Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (SP)

Udupi, Jun 23: Karnataka State Private Bus Owners’ Union treasurer, Kuilady Suresh Nayak, urged the government to immediately extend six months tax concession to private bus owners. He said that the bus operators are in dire straits on account of lockdown and increasing price of diesel.

He was addressing the media persons here on Tuesday June 22. "The government has till now extended a grant of Rs 2,400 crore to Karnataka State Road Transport Corporations for extending pass facility at concessional rate to school students," he narrated. He pointed out that even the private buses have been extending similar concessions to students and daily commuters. "We are not getting any financial benefit or concession from the government in return. Alternatively, it will enormously help the bus owners if a six-month tax concession is extended to us," he explained.

Nayak said that the bus owners are staring at a huge financial burden on account of diesel price hike. He explained that the buses did not take to roads because of the lockdown and also the provision that only 50 percent of passenger capacity can be occupied, as these things cause losses to the bus owners. He revealed that if the buses are run as per rules, it will be hard to even recover the cost of diesel.

Nayak said that the bus owners need at least one lac rupees for making the stranded buses to run again by way of insurance and repair cost. "The people too are hesitating to travel in buses because of fear of infection. We will soon meet the transport minister and hold discussions towards finding some formula to mitigate our problems. We urge the government to come forward to help the private bus owners who are in deep trouble," he requested.