People's
Democracy
(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of
India (Marxist) No. 08
February 23, 2003
(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of
India (Marxist) |
Vol.
XXVII No. 08 February 23, 2003 |
THE
state
committee
of
the
CPI(M)
has
demanded
that
the
state
government
must
immediately
withdraw
the
hike
in
fare
of
APSRTC
buses
and
gave
a
call
for
conducting
dharnas
and
rasta
rokos
all
over
the
state.
The
hike
in
bus
fare,
which
would
fetch
an
additional
revenue
of
Rs
144
crore
per
annum
to
the
Andhra
Pradesh
State
Road
Transport
Corporation
(APSRTC),
came
into
effect
from
the
midnight
on
February
3.
Raghavulu
made
it
clear
that
if
illegal
plying
of
private
carriers
was
curbed,
the
APSRTC
could
be
run
profitably,
without
increasing
the
fares.
It
is
a
part
and
parcel
of
the
attempts
of
the
government
to
destroy
the
RTC
and
hand
it
over
to
private
parties
ultimately,
by
hiking
the
already
exorbitant
fares
of
the
RTC
and
thus
driving
the
commuters
towards
private
carriers.
Protesting
against
the
proposed
hike
in
RTC
fares,
rasta
rokos,
demonstrations
and
processions
were
organised
by
different
political
parties
in
the
state
on
the
first
of
this
month.
Workers
of
the
CPI(M)
and
mass
organisations
took
out
processions,
conducted
rasta
rokos
and
dharnas,
and
burnt
effigies
of
the
government
at
various
centres
throughout
the
state.
Reports
of
such
agitations
have
come
from
Hyderabad,
Vijayawada,
Tirupati,
Cuddapah,
West
Godavari,
Visakhapatnam,
Srikakulam,
Kurnool
and
other
districts.
(MVR)
