Bus operators make commuters wait

NEW DELHI, June 18: Negotiations between the government and the Blueline bus operators suffered a temporary setback after the operators boyc...

NEW DELHI, June 18: Negotiations between the government and the Blueline bus operators suffered a temporary setback after the operators boycotted the talks, accusing the government of being insensitive to their demands. The commuters, meanwhile, had to suffer for the third day today.

The talks are likely to resume tomorrow. Ramesh Dalal, president, STA Bus Nyaya Panchayat, today said the decision to join the talks was taken following his meeting with leaders of various political parties, including Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee DPCC president Shiela Dixit and BJP state unit President Kedarnath Sahani.

The leaders urged the bus operators to work out a solution with the government in the interest of commuters, he said.

However, he reiterated that the bus operators were not prepared to negotiate on their demands for reduction of royalty to the Delhi Transport Corporation DTC. Under the new scheme they are required to pay Rs 3,000 which they want scaled back to Rs 500. Dalal added that they were also demanding that the security deposit be reduced to Rs 2,000 from Rs 10,000.

As far as changing the bus routes was concerned, he said that it was not required as the routes had been changed in the recent past after taking into account the views of STA, bus operators and commuters. He also felt that the government should issue a one-time permit valid for five years, instead of renewing it every four months as suggested by the government. Meanwhile, G.S. Mor, president of Delhi Bus Operators Forum said that more than 2,000 bus operators staged a dharna outside the STA after a general body meeting there this morning. Their demands are also the same as those of STA Bus Nyaya Panchayat.

Demanding the resignation of the Delhi Transport Minister Rajendra Gupta, he said that he had completely failed in providing a simple service to Delhiites. 8220;The commuters are facing problems and we also want to ply our buses. But till our permits are renewed we cannot come back on the streets.8221;