Bus syndicate calls off strike following Govt assurance, relief for commuters

The Kolkata bus owners’ syndicate has suspended the planned strike originally scheduled to start on Thursday after holding a meeting with Kolkata Police Commissioner Mano Sharma, Transport Secretary Soumitra Mohan, and other government officials. The government assured the bus owners that their demands would be carefully reviewed. Following this, the Joint Council of Bus Syndicates decided to postpone the strike until September, with a warning that the strike may resume if their demands are not met by then.

The bus owners had earlier announced a three-day strike from May 22 to 24, submitting five demands to the government. These included extending the permissible bus age limit beyond 15 years by accounting for the two years buses remained non-operational during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional demands included addressing issues related to police harassment, unauthorized toll tax collection, and the rise in diesel prices. A formal letter containing these demands was sent to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. They also set a deadline of May 20 for a government response, after which they threatened to launch the strike.

During the latest meeting on Wednesday, the government promised to consider the demands with sympathy, leading to the decision to suspend the strike for now. Tapan Banerjee, General Secretary of the Joint Council of Bus Syndicates, stated, “The government has promised to consider our demands sympathetically. Therefore, the strike is being suspended until September.” Meanwhile, bus services in Kolkata will continue to operate without disruption until the next review.