Srinagar, Mar 24: The transporters have deferred the strike following the government’s assurance that it would consider hike in transport fares in wake of recent increase in fuel prices.
 Sources told Greater Kashmir that the government has constituted a committee, comprising financial commissioner, commission secretary transport and transport commissioner and divisional commissioners of the state, to consider the issue and will come up with the report soon. The step, sources said, has come after the private transport players had threatened to go on strike to demand the fare hike.
 “The government has already assured the transporters that their demands will be met. So the committee is seriously considering the demands and it is likely to call for a reasonable hike in fares,” they said.
 The transporters have demanded increase in the bus fares and had threatened to go on strike from March 25. But it was suspended after assurances from the government.
 A top government official said, “The demands of transporters are genuine. Question is simple price of petrol and diesel has been increased. So government has to go for fare hike.”
 General secretary Kashmir Transporters Welfare Association Shiekh Muhammad Yousuf said they have suspended the strike till April 5 after government assured that their demands would be fulfilled.
 Yousuf said they had called off the strike and if government failed to address their demands they would go for indefinite strike from April 5.
 He said they met Divisional Commissioner Kashmir and Regional Transport Officer here on Tuesday and apprised about their demands. Yousuf said, “They (Divisional Commissioner and Regional Transport Officer) assured us that our genuine demands will be addressed and taken to the government. Following which we suspended the strike till April 5," he said.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 24 Mar 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 25 Mar 2010 00:00:00 IST