John Wilbert & Sarthak Kanjilall
Port Blair, June 04: The meeting between the Director Transport and representatives of Private Bus Association held recently yielded no result once again. During the meeting the Director of Transport was reportedly firm on the SOP of operating private buses with 50 percent capacity and also was against doubling the fare, considering the well being of general public.
However, the representatives of A & N Private Bus Owners Association who met the Director Transport again today, explained their problems and have mentioned that in this arrangement they will suffer huge loss and it won’t bring cash, even enough for the fuel.
“However, the Director only said that a little consideration will be given if the strength in the bus is somewhat more than 50 percent that too with proper social distancing,” said a representative who does not want his name to be quoted.
Talking to Andaman Sheekha, the General Secretary, A & N Private Bus Owners Association, Mr. Shiva Kumar said that there is an internal meeting of the association tomorrow wherein they will make the call whether they will ply private buses or not with following the SOP of Transport Department.
“We also don’t have any other option as 400-500 workers are totally dependent on the private bus operations for their livelihood,” Mr. Kumar added.
