At ground level,unions give a split verdict

With the government sticking to its decision on carrying out a crackdown on 15-year-old vehicles from July 25,at least 17 associations of commercial vehicle operators under the banner of Save Commercial Vehicle Committee (SCVC) on Sunday called for an indefinite strike from July 24. The transport strike will be observed all across West Bengal and in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA) and will continue for an indefinite period.

Though these associations claim that the strike is the only solution against the indifference of the state government,which has unilaterally declared its decision to impose the ban,there are still many who want to abstain from joining in.

“We are concerned about the fate of those who are mere employees of the bus owners and even those who drive taxis. An indefinite strike is easy for the owners to call but for the drivers,conductors and the helpers it is a curse since they will lose their bread. The government had given the operators packages and held meetings with them but they are being politically motivated and continue to defy the High Court ban. Why did the vehicle owners not work towards phasing out the vehicles when they knew it was a court order which cannot be defied?” asked Subhas Mukherjee of West Bengal Road Transport Workers Federation.

Even commercial vehicle associations like Calcutta Goods Transport Association and Truck Owner Association of Bengal are keeping away from the strike.

“We are not a part of the strike. The state government might be wrong but it is now applying a court order. Whether the ban is right or wrong it does not matter now,” said Joydeb Ghosh,president,Truck Owners Association of Bengal which has 4,000 lorries running inter-state.