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Time of India
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Buses threaten 3-day strike after talks with state fail
1 2 Kolkata: The meeting between the Bengal transport department and five major private bus operators ' associations failed to resolve an ongoing stand-off on Monday, as the associations confirmed they would proceed with a three-day statewide strike of stage carriage buses starting May 22. Despite several meetings with senior transport officials, including transport secretary Saumitra Mohan, the associations, united under the banner Besarkari Jatri Paribahan Banchao Committee , remained firm on their decision to protest. Their demands include a two-year extension for buses over 15 years old and an end to what they allege is persistent police harassment over traffic violations, and fare revision. "It is unfortunate that the bus operators decided to continue with the strike. Our govt is sympathetic to their demands, and many issues are under review. A strike is not a solution — it only causes immense inconvenience to the public," said state transport minister Snehasis Chakraborty. If the strike happens, over 2,000 buses will go off the roads. Chakraborty said the govt will deploy its full fleet of public transport and ensure that buses not participating in the strike are not forcibly stopped. "We will take legal action against any coercive tactic. We hope the associations will reconsider and call off the strike." However, association leaders indicated no breakthrough was in sight. P N Bose, spokesperson for the Inter and Intra Region Bus Association, expressed cautious optimism, saying, "Let's hope against hope." Tapan Banerjee , secretary of Joint Council of Bus Syndicates, cited severe financial distress in the sector. "Private bus operators are yet to recover from Covid-era losses. The govt hasn't offered a viable financial package. On top of that, false traffic violations and heavy fines are hurting us." He also noted that a letter was sent to the Chief Minister's Office seeking inter-vention but has received no response yet. Currently, approximately 3,500 private buses operate in Kolkata and surrounding areas, while 27,000 ply statewide. The transport community remains divided on the strike. Titu Saha, secretary of City Suburban Bus Service, said, "We neither support nor oppose the strike. Our buses will run. We don't want commuters to suffer. While many demands are valid, cutting off dialogue through a strike is counterproductive."
The Hindu
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Public transport operators in Bengal to go on three-day strike; allege police excesses, stringent govt directives
Several transport operators' associations across the State have collectively called for a 72-hour strike starting May 22, alleging the government's 'unsatisfactory' response to their grievances against 'police oppression' and stringent government directives. The strike will prevail between May 22 and May 24. It was called primarily by bus operators' associations of the State. Representatives of transport operators' associations met with transport secretary Saumitra Mohan multiple times and reportedly for the last time on Tuesday, before calling the strike their 'last resort'. Their demands include an end to alleged police excesses and relaxation of certain directives surrounding vehicle fitness. 'This has become a fight for survival now, with the police torture and the government's Sanjog Portal. It will no longer be possible for us to feed our families or educate our children,' Sandip Sengupta, secretary of the Minibus Operators Coordination Committee, told local mediapersons after they met with government authorities on Tuesday. Sanjog Portal is a unified e-challan system recently put in place by the West Bengal government for online resolution of traffic violation cases and fine payments. Public transport operators have been protesting against the transport department's recent directive mandating the use of the Sanjog Portal. They have accused traffic police personnel and civic volunteers of imposing arbitrary fines, citing this as an additional financial burden over increasing operational costs. The State transport department also directed that no fitness or pollution certificates would be issued to vehicles with unresolved violation cases, adding to the transport owners' woes. 'We had a virtual meeting today. But we did not get a satisfactory response from them. They said they will look into the matter. We did not receive anything concrete regarding our demands, which is why we are compelled to bring our services to a halt on May 22, May 23 and May 24. We can't operate under such oppression by the police, and with the Sanjog Portal directive,' Pradip Narayan Basu, secretary of the West Bengal Bus Minibus Owners' Association, said. Several representatives who met the transport secretary, including Mr Basu, said on Tuesday that the Chief Minister's intervention is their 'last hope to keep public transport operational'.
Time of India
19-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Three-day private bus strike from May 22 as talks between operators, Bengal govt inconclusive
Kolkata faces a potential transport crisis. Discussions between the West Bengal transport department and private bus operators reached a standstill. A three-day statewide bus strike is planned to start on May 22. The bus operators demand resolution of pending issues. These issues include extending the lifespan of older buses and addressing alleged police harassment. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Talks between the West Bengal transport department and a unified platform of five private bus operators ' associations failed to resolve the ongoing deadlock on Monday, with the latter firm on their three-day statewide strike of stage carriages starting May 22. The associations, which have come together under the banner Besarkari Jatri Paribahan Banchao Committee (Save Passenger Transport Committee), are demanding immediate resolution of long-pending grievances, including a two-year extension for buses older than 15 years and an end to alleged police harassment over traffic of five associations - Joint Council of Bus Syndicates, Bengal Bus Syndicate , West Bengal Bus-Mini Bus Owners Association, Minibus Operators Co-ordination Committee and Inter and Intra Region Bus Association - met senior transport officials and transport secretary Saumitra Mohan in series of meetings, but there was no immediate sign of a breakthrough, PN Bose, spokesperson of the Inter and Intra Region Bus Association, told said as a last-ditch effort in the interest of commuters, they will hold a meeting with Mohan on May 20, where the deputy commissioners of Kolkata Police across different divisions will be connected virtually."Let's hope against hope," he added.A senior transport official said, "We hope better sense will prevail. We are hopeful they will respond positively to tomorrow's discussion where both sides will discuss the issues," he added."Private bus operators are yet to recover from the losses incurred during Covid lockdown in 2020. The state government is yet to announce a viable financial package for the stage carriage sector, which is now struggling for survival. Still, we are struggling to keep our fleet running, but police excesses like slapping false traffic violation cases and imposing hefty fines are making our survival difficult, Bose added."We had also sent a letter to the Chief Minister's Office, but there has been no response," he around 2,500 private buses operate in Kolkata and surrounding areas, while around 27,000 buses ply across the state.
Time of India
06-05-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Paperless penalties: Pay all traffic fines on Sanjog portal
Kolkata: Cracking down on mounting traffic violations and unpaid challans, the state govt has announced the mandatory adoption of a unified e-challan system by all law enforcement and transport agencies through the 'Sanjog' portal. It is a centralised digital platform developed by the Bengal transport department in collaboration with the IT&E decision, stemming from resolutions taken in a high-level meeting chaired by the chief secretary, aims at streamlining vehicular regulation, enforcing better compliance, and reducing revenue leakage by making challan payment and tracking completely order, issued by transport secretary Saumitra Mohan, emphasises the urgent need for electronic oversight mechanisms where both registering and licensing authorities can instantly view pending challans, and citizens can pay them online through the GRIPS payment gateway without physically visiting enforcement offices. The system is designed to ensure the fine amount is directly credited to the state exchequer under the appropriate head of immediately, the state declared that no auto emission testing centre shall issue pollution certificates to vehicles with unresolved challans, and no certificate of fitness will be granted until pending cases are either cleared or forwarded to the relevant court. Importantly, once a challan is booked, the vehicle owner can pay fines anytime online unless the case is already submitted to court by the enforcement officer, who is mandated to reflect the case details in the Sanjog portal .The integration with the Vahan and Sarathi portals ensures that any pending fines trigger a pop-up alert when a vehicle or licence-related transaction is initiated — both online and over-the-counter — providing real-time visibility of dues to the authorities and citizens. The state has provided a six-month grace window for registering authorities to proceed with applications despite outstanding dues, but applicants must be notified of unpaid challans once this period lapses.
