DC directs to slash bus fare
Transport department public contact meeting
Mangaluru, July 24: Taking exception to the unilateral decision of the Dakshina Kannada District Bus Owners Association to increase the bus fare without taking permission from the District Transport Authority, Deputy Commissioner and Authority Chairman Sasikanth Senthil directed the association to slash the bus fare increased by it.
Responding to the public grievances at a public contact meeting held at the Transport Department here on Tuesday, Transport department deputy commissioner (incharge) John Miskith said that the Bus Owners Association had increased the bus fare without getting the permission from the District Transport Authority and listening to the public opinion and gave an advertisement in the newspapers in last April. They were collecting more fare from the passengers. As he has received public complaint against this practice, it was brought to the notice of the Authority Chairman. Following this, the Chairman had served a notice to the Association. Against this, the association had appealed to the State Transport Authority which sought clarification from the district authority. In view of this, the district Authority has cancelled the decision taken by the association unilaterally and instructed the association that fare hike or decrease should be discussed in the Authority meeting and decided. The association was also asked to respond to the notice within three days. If the order was not honoured, the Authority would take action against the Association, he said. .
Some of the participants Jerald Towers Kadri, Dinesh Shetty, Naizil Albukark and others raised the issue of harsh horn and tickets were also not issuing. If asked, the bus operators give reasons. Some time, they miss the regular routes and run the buses, they said demanding action.
But Misquith assured of taking action if particular route and bus names were given.
Some buses which come from other places were given permission till Kottara and Infosys and it should be extended to Kottara Chowki. If the buses stopped at Kottara- Infosys, it would cause inconvenience to the passengers, said Chandramohan.
Cancel seats reserved for women
Social worker BS Hasanabba said that the authority should cancel reservation of seats for women in buses, because, even if the seats were vacant, women occupy the seats of men. Moreover, the women who sat on the seats reserved for senior citizens would respond indifferently when they were asked to shift to their seats. Bus conductors should insist the women to sit in their reserved seats. If not, the reservation of seats for women passengers should be cancelled, he demanded.
Kannada board demanded
Majority of the vehicles including buses have been using English boards. So, the owners of the vehicles should be directed to write in Kannada, said GK Bhat.
John Misquith said that such problems were there because of shortage of sufficient staff in the department. The department was trying to solve majority of the problems, he said.
Appreciating his work, Bhat said that after taking over the charge, he was working for the people. But previous officials were behaving like the agents of the private bus owners. You were against to such culture. So, take stringent action against the bus staff which violate norms, he demanded.
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'I go to Parliament to create impact, not ruckus': Raghav Chadha rubbishes AAP's allegations
New Delhi (PTI): "I go to Parliament to create impact, not ruckus," said Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Saturday as he rejected allegations levelled against him by the Aam Aadmi Party, calling them "false" and part of a "coordinated campaign".
In a video, Chadha dismissed claims that he did not join opposition walkouts, terming the charge a "blatant lie".
He challenged his detractors to cite even a single instance where he failed to participate and said parliamentary proceedings are recorded through CCTV cameras.
Refuting another allegation that he refused to sign a motion related to the Chief Election Commissioner, Chadha said no party leader had asked him, either formally or informally, to sign it. He added that several other MPs from his party had also not signed the motion.
The MP said his focus in Parliament has been on raising public issues such as GST, income tax, air pollution in Delhi, water concerns in Punjab, public healthcare, education, railway passenger issues, menstrual health, unemployment and inflation.
Chadha said that he goes to Parliament to "create impact not ruckus" as it runs on taxpayers' money and it is his responsibility to highlight their concerns. "Every lie will be exposed," he said.
