Amid skyrocketing prices of petrol, diesel and LPG in Madhya Pradesh, the common man is in for another inflation shock as the state government on Thursday announced that bus fare will be revised from March 1 onwards. The announcement came ahead of bus operators’ proposed strike call on Friday. The operators postponed the demonstrations after a video call meeting with the Transport minister Govind Singh Rajput.
However, the state government is yet to go public on the exact extent of fare revision. A proposal for increased bus fare rates is pending with the Transport department for months. The bus operators are demanding up to 25 per cent rise in fare, citing spiralling diesel prices, priced at Rs 89.60 per litre in the state. They claim the fare was last revised when the fuel was at Rs 60 a litre.
Sources claimed that the Transport department could go for a fare revision of around 10 to 25 per cent. Meanwhile, Transport Minister Rajput has announced that the fare revision will be finalised after a consensus among the bus operators and the travellers.
Rajput’s announcement was made after a meeting with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Govind Sharma, the president of Prime Route Bus Owners’ Association, said that the stir has been called off in Bhopal, Ujjain, Jabalpur, Gwalior, Indore, Sagar and other districts.
In the September 18 meeting of the bus fare board, it was decided that the rates will be revised by up to 50 per cent but it remains unclear how much of the revision will be made, said Sharma. The announcement came amid a surge in diesel petrol and LPG prices. On Thursday, Petrol prices was at Rs 98.96 a litre and LPG cooking gas cylinder is priced at Rs 775 per unit.
Source: News18