Jammu: Privately owned passenger bus operators held a protest demonstration on Wednesday in Jammu against the operation of e-buses.
The transporters also announced a one-day token strike on Thursday against operation of e-buses, which they alleged are affecting their livelihoods.
As per the news agency KNO, led by All Jammu and Transporter Welfare Association, many transporters assembled in Warehouse of Jammu city, raised slogans against administration for “illegally” running e-bus service along various congested routes of Jammu.
Vijay Singh Chib, president of the association, said that government and transporters has agreed to run e-buses on uncovered and less congested routes, but the administration “unilaterally violated the agreement” and started operations of e-buses on all busy routes, causing hardships to private transporters.
He said earlier during introducing e-rickshaws, the government failed to address the issue of auto-rickshaw owners, which rendered them unemployed.
He said they have purchased their vehicles through loans, but as their livelihood gets affected, they won’t be able to pay the monthly installments.
Another transporter said, “e-buses are meant for uncovered areas of the city, and if they want to ply on overpopulated routes, the government should think about our livelihoods too. This issue has severely affected our livelihoods, and we are hardly earning anything for our families”.
The bus operators said that around 80 of their buses have been affected due to the issue and appealed to the Lieutenant Governor-led administration to look into the issue.
