UPP demands withdrawal of bus fare hike

Nainital, February 10
The Uttarakhand Parivartan Party (UPP) has demanded immediate withdrawal of the increase in bus fares that came into effect from January 31, a day after the Assembly elections in the state.

The UPP held a demonstration in Almora today and termed the bus fare hike as treachery with the masses of the state. It said the fare hike, which was nearly 100 per cent in the hill areas as compared to the hike in the plains, indicated the anti-hill mindset of the state government. The UPP added that it would fight against injustice meted out to the people.

Party workers gathered at the district headquarters to hold a protest this morning. The protesters said while the bus fare hike in the plain areas was 18 paise per km, it was 34 paise per km in the hill areas.

The UPP leaders said the people travelling in the hills were compelled to pay more as they had to travel more on winding roads to cover short distances. In the process more time was also consumed.

UPP president PC Tiwari said the Congress and the BJP were systematically destroying all the possibilities of the development of the hills. He charged the two parties with working against the spirit that underlined the creation of Uttarakhand state. Tiwari also criticised the Congress and the BJP for their approach on the issue of a permanent capital for the state. He said the regressive policies of the two parties were responsible for villages witnessing a large scale migration, chronic unemployment and spiralling prices.

Tiwari claimed that the delimitation exercise had resulted in a decline in leadership in the hills. Senior party leader Govind Lal Verma said the bus fare hike was a result of the regressive mindset of the government led by Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri and the bureaucracy.

The UPP leaders later submitted a memorandum, addressed to Governor Margaret Alva, to District Magistrate DS Garbyal. Besides the withdrawal of bus fare hike, the UPP demanded an end to the contractual mode of employment, regularisation of the services of employees and an end to corruption in the state. It also sought similar bus fares for both hill and plain areas.