Kolkata, July 25: As taxi operators continued their 24-hour strike on Friday, the city bus operators withdrew their indefinite strike.
In a meeting held by bus, pool car, school bus, trucks and lorry operators, it was also decided that they will not go for any further strikes for now. The decision stands till the transport operators take their case to the Supreme Court.
The Calcutta High Court, meanwhile, turned down the transporters’ plea to extend the July 31 deadline for the ban on 15-year-old vehicles.
“We are not going to hear (the matter) any further,” said the Division Bench comprising Chief Justice SS Nijjar and Justice Biswanath Somadder. It was the duty of the state government to implement the ban. The final hearing of the case is on August 21.
In a related development, the court rejected a plea of the Bengal Bus Syndicate, which sought an order to allow the banned vehicles to be converted into light public carriage.
On his part, transport minister Subhas Chakraborty said the government was determined to implement court order. “There will be no lenience on part of the government. All 15-year-old buses plying after July 31will be illegal and the police will not take any responsibility for them,” the minister said.
The minister also claimed there was no 15-year-old bus in the fleet run by the government. “The condition of some buses is quite bad, but you cannot show me a single 15-year-old bus there,” he said.
–Agencies