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‘Why burden passengers?’: Shiv Sena (UBT) slams MSRTC fare hike, holds protest

Last week, the MSRTC announced the hike for all types of state transport buses effective January 25.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) alleged that the state government was extracting money from the common man's pockets to fulfill its promise of funding the Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana. (PTI Photo)

Protesting the Maharashtra State Road Transportation Corporation’s (MSRTC) announcement last week to hike ticket fares by 14,95 per cent, Shiv Sena (UBT) workers staged a rasta roko demonstration on Tuesday at the Swargate bus depot. The party alleged that the state government was extracting money from the common man’s pockets to fulfill its promise of funding the Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana.

Last week, the MSRTC announced the hike for all types of state transport buses effective January 25.
Gajanan Tharkude, Shiv Sena (UBT) city president, claimed that the state’s poor financial condition has created a funding shortage, making it difficult to deliver on its promise to provide financial support under the Ladki Bahin Yojana.

“The government didn’t come up with this decision before revising the scheme’s payments to girls in the state,” he said.

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Pramod Nehul, an official from MSRTC’s Pune Division, stated in a recent interview with The Indian Express that the hike was part of a periodic process, with the last hike of 18 percent having been implemented in 2021.

Countering this explanation, Tharkude questioned why the fares were increased despite the MSRTC recently announcing
it had turned a profit. “If MSRTC recorded a profit of Rs 16.86 crore in August last year, what is the need to burden passengers now, especially after the announcement to increase the Ladki Bahin scheme’s payout from Rs 1500 to Rs 2100?” he asked.

He also criticised the state of public transportation saying, “Firstly, common people are not benefitting from state transport as the condition of buses is deplorable. Secondly, the state transportation minister himself was unaware of the decision to hike fares, which was made by the MSRTC committee. Why wasn’t this hike implemented earlier when the Ladki Bahin Yojana didn’t exist?”

Tharkude further alleged that the hike was symbolic of the government’s inability to fulfill its promise of paying Rs 2,100 to the beneficiaries of the scheme.

Shubham Tigga

Shubham Tigga hails from Chhattisgarh and studied journalism at the Asian College of Journalism. He previously reported in Chhattisgarh on Indigenous issues and is deeply interested in covering socio-political, human rights, and environmental issues in mainland and NE India. Presently based in Pune, he reports on civil aviation, other transport sectors, urban mobility, the gig economy, commercial matters, and workers' unions. You can reach out to him on LinkedIn ... Read More

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