AAP plans to put an end to the ‘transport mafia’ by bringing luxury buses run by Punjab government at Delhi airport

Aam Aadmi Party The (AAP)-led Punjab government has decided to run luxury bus services from various parts of the state to New Delhi airport on June 15, claiming that it will put an end to the ‘transport mafia’ in the state. This comes at a time when private bus operators have questioned the government’s slackness on their demands, claiming that their livelihoods are at stake.

as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal with his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mannu As luxury buses are set to flag off from Jalandhar to Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport on Wednesday, private bus operators have announced to put ‘black flags’ on their buses to highlight their demands.

Members of the Punjab Motor Union, a body of private bus operators, have welcomed the government’s decision to introduce a luxury bus service to the New Delhi airport, but insisted that the government should provide more than 2,000 private bus operators in the state. There is a need to rationalize our policies. Because this area is facing an existential crisis.

“The previous government had allowed last year free travel for women Our business has suffered a lot since this decision in all government buses. The business of private operators has come down by almost 50% as women prefer to travel in government buses. Moreover, diesel prices have increased sharply in the last months. Also the rent for the last two years is almost the same. Our livelihood is at stake but the government has not taken any step for us. Hindu on Tuesday.

“We have been raising our concerns for the past several months, but to no avail, so we have decided to put ‘black flags’ on the buses. If our demands are not met, we will decide the further course of action. The state government’s decision to introduce a luxurious bus service to the New Delhi airport is a welcome move as passengers will get cheaper rides and the monopoly of one of the major bus operators will end, but the rest of the private bus operators are meeting their demands. want to do. can be accomplished so that the business can be sustained,” he said.

As the debate over the ‘transport mafia’ continued, the main opposition party, the Congress, took a dig at Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, accusing him of “handing over Punjab to Delhi”.

Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Legislative Assembly, Congress’ Pratap Singh Bajwa said the fact that Mr Kejriwal is coming to flag off the luxury bus service reiterates that the Punjab government is being run from Delhi.

“During our previous regime, the Congress government had taken up the matter with the Delhi government several times to run buses to the international airport, but to no avail. Now they have been forced to ply these buses as it is their government in both the states and not running the buses will expose them as they had an ‘understanding’ with the private operator which had monopolized this route for the whole year . Also, the flag hoisting ceremony to be organized by Mr Kejriwal along with Mr Kejriwal has once again re-established the fact that the Punjab government is being run from Delhi,” Mr Bajwa said.

Stating that the decision to run the state-run luxury bus service at the New Delhi airport would dig the grave of the ‘transport mafia’ in the state, Mr. Mann said that the transport mafia would be a thing of the past.

After his announcement, the chief minister said in a video message that for decades, only private transporters had run their buses on this route and looted people by charging at their own will and hobbies. He said that these people monopolized the trade and exploited the people. He said that these super luxury buses would charge less than half what private transporters would.

Notably, Indo-Canadian buses of the politically influential “Badal” family had been running from Punjab to New Delhi airport for the past several years, while state-owned buses were plying to the Delhi Interstate Bus Terminal.