DAYA News Bureau 10th August 2022: At least 7-8 buses of South Bengal State Transport Corporation (SBSTC) plying from Durgapur depot have been discontinued, due to increase in oil prices and decrease in passenger numbers. The decision to reduce the number of buses has also been notified.
Snehashis Chakraborty, the newly appointed Transport Minister, said in this context that the rate at which the Central Government has increased the price of oil has added up considerably to the cost of transportation. What exactly has happened at Durgapur depot will be investigated and action will be taken, said the minister.
The manager of the government bus depot himself admits that due to the non-allocation of funds by the state government, many bus routes have to be closed. On visiting the depot one will witness the poor wretched conditions of several of the buses standing in queue, whose wheels haven’t rolled for years.
According to Durgapur Bus Depot sources, once upon a time, as many as 75-80 government buses used to leave from here every day for Malda, Baharampur, Balurghat, Digha, Krishnanagar, Dharmatala. But, due to insufficient funds, at present, most of the bus routes have to be stopped.
Durgapur SBSTC Bus Depot Manager Banmali Laxman said, “The state government has not sanctioned the financial allocation this year, financial problems have been going on since last March. From the purchase of spare parts to the cost of fuel, the salary of temporary workers has to be paid from the funds provided by the government. Earlier 12-14 crores were allocated for depots every year by the state government, but this year no money has been allocated till now.
As a result, around 250 temporary workers have lost their jobs. Durgapur SBSTC Bus Depot Traffic Officer Prosenjit Bandyopadhyay said, “The price of fuel has increased, but the government has not increased the fare. There is a sky-high difference between the current market price of fuel and the bus fare, and for them there was no alternative except to reduce the number of government buses on various routes.”
The opposition has already targeted the government, claiming, it’s a shame that the government has crores of rupee stacked in their minister’s houses but no money to run the buses
Transport Minister Snehashis Chakraborty however assured that he will see with responsibility, how to solve the problem. An urgent meeting of top officials has been called.