The members of Dehradun Mahanagar City Bus Seva Sangh appealed Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat to provide relaxation to the city bus owners in the bank installments and taxes as their business is suffering because of the lockdown imposed by the State Government to stall the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Besides, they also demanded to provision of ration or money to the bus drivers and conductors who earn their livelihood through daily wages.
According to the president of City Bus Seva Sangh, Vijay Vardhan Dandriyal, “The bus owners like us deposit the bank installments for the loan taken for the buses and earn to pay the taxes to the Government through the buses. If the buses do not operate in the city, we will not be able to pay for all these expenses.” He said that the Government should provide the relaxation in taxes to the bus owners as it did during the 2013 Kedarnath calamity in the State.
According to the city bus drivers in the city, the lockdown has hit them hard because they earn their livelihood through the daily wages. Talking further about it, Dandriyal said that the State Government should provide some money or ration to the bus drivers and conductors like the overnments of Kerala and Uttar Pradesh are doing so that they and their families can sustain themselves through the period of lockdown in the state. He added that their association stands in support of the Chief Minister’s decision of prohibiting the operation of buses due to coronavirus but they are disappointed that no arrangements have been made by the Government about the daily wagers.
It is pertinent to mention here that all public transport has been prohibited in the State as part of the lockdown announced by the State Government till March 31.