KOCHI: The Inter-state Bus Owners Association (IBOA) Kerala will halt all inter-state bus services, from June 24, in protest against the Motor Vehicles Department(MVD)'s actions as part of the operation named Night Riders in the past two months, said Adv Manoj Padikkal, president of IBOA, here on Saturday.
According to Mr Manoj, the decision was taken after the discussions regarding the matter with the office of the Transport Minister and the Transport Commissionerate had failed. He said that they were being forced to pay Rs 10,000 as fine daily to the MVD citing violation of the use of permits under the Motor Vehicles Act. The inability of buses to continue their services due to the daily payment of such huge amount as fine is another reason for the halting of services, he said.
Meanwhile, in protest against the MVD actions, the buses registered in Kerala will not pay taxes and submit a G form whereas buses registered in other states will protest by not paying the road tax in Kerala.
The organisation is ready to accept any recommendations by the Justice Ramachandran Commission, which was tasked by the state government to ensure the safe travel of passengers during night and to control exorbitant fees charged by buses, he said.
They have also given a petition to the Chief Minister, the Opposition Leader and the Transport Minister to introduce measures to protect the industry.
