|
 People's Democracy
(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of India
(Marxist)
|
Vol. XXXIII
No.
46
November
15, 2009
|
DELHI
CPI(M) Protests Bus Fare Hike
ON October 28, Delhi state committee of the CPI(M) organised a
demonstration at the ITO to protest against the steep hike in bus fares
announced by the Delhi
state government. Women, men, youth and students participated in large
numbers.
Vijender Sharma, member of the
Delhi
state secretariat
of CPI(M), presided over the protest rally. State CPI(M) secretary P M
S Grewal
and state committee member Albeena Shakil addressed the protestors.
The speakers lambasted the
Sheila Dikshit government for imposing such a steep hike in bus fares.
The
rates of monthly bus passes have almost doubled and those of student
passes
have been increased eight times. Exorbitant fares ranging from a
minimum of Rs 5
to Rs 15 are being imposed. Most people in Delhi, especially workers, have to
travel
long distances on a daily basis to work. Such bus fares will eat into
the
already meagre incomes of their vast majority.
The above hikes in bus fares
come in the backdrop of unrelenting rise in prices of essential
commodities,
especially edibles like pulses and vegetables, and the almost total
collapse of
the public distribution system. Prior to this, the Delhi government has effected hikes
in prices
of milk and electricity through reduction of subsidies. There is also
talk of
increasing Metro and water tariffs in November. The cumulative effect
of such
measures would be that life will become unbearable for lakhs of poor
and lower
middle class citizens of the capital.
The speakers accused the Delhi government
of
deliberately letting the losses of DTC pile up and not taking timely
remedial
action. While the transport ministry is squarely responsible for this
situation,
the people of Delhi
are being made to pay for their criminal neglect.
The steep hike in bus fares once
again exposes the anti-people character of the Congress government. The
speakers asked the people of Delhi to
raise
their powerful voice of protest against the totally unjustified hike in
bus
fares and force the Delhi
government to withdraw this step. (INN)
