West Bengal bus operators defer indefinite strike

Kolkata: The Joint Council of Bus Syndicate, one of the largest public transport bus unions of West Bengal, Monday announced its decision to defer its strike call from Oct 9 to the end of the festive season.

The union threatened to go on an indefinite strike from Oct 9 if the fares were not raised in the wake of repeated diesel price hikes. "Today, we had a talk with the transport minister (Madan Mitra) and after the discussion, we have decided to defer our strike call till the end of the festive season. We are doing this in the interest of the common man," said Sadhan Das, representing the syndicate. The indefinite strike would have seen over 36,000 buses going off the road. Earlier Sep 17-20, the bus operators went on strike demanding a fare hike. While the state saw its last bus fare revision in July 2010, Das said diesel prices have shot up by more than 34 percent (nearly Rs 13 a litre) since February 2010. IANS