July 24, 2009

Transport operators on indefinite strike from tomorrow

Kolkata, Jul 23: Commercial transport operators here has decided to go on an indefinite strike from tomorrow after their meeting with the West Bengal Transport minister over the ban of 15-year-old vehicles from the metropolis failed today."The meeting with Transport Minister Subhas Chakraborty has failed. So we are going ahead with the strike," Joint Council of Bus Syndicates General Secretary Sadhan Das said. CITU state Secretary Kali Ghosh said it was opposed to the strike as it was against the interest of the people. "It is a conspiracy against the Left Front government," he said.The High Court order banning all 15-year-old commercial vehicles from the Kolkata metropolitan area would come into force from August one.

The Trinamool Congress today lent "moral support" to the indefinite strike called by commercial transport operators here from tomorrow while seeking West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi's intervention to end the stalemate.Leader of Opposition Partha Chatterjee alleged the state government had failed to find a solution through dialogue with private transport operators and inflicted hardship on the people.Asked about the party's stand on the transport strike, he said party supremo Mamata Banerjee had already stated that the Trinamool Congress was against bandhs and blockades, however, the party would extend "moral support" to the strike.