Srinagar/Jammu, Nov 19: Public transport remained off the roads across Jammu and Kashmir on Monday in view of the strike called by All J&K Transporters Association to press for their demand of fare hike.
Roads wore a deserted look as no public vehicles, auto-rickshaws, taxis, Sumos could be seen plying. Interconnectivity between different districts was badly affected due to non-availability of public transport.
“All our constituent members, taxi stands, auto-rickshaw association today observed complete strike against the government’s failure to revise passenger fares,” said Ghazi Abdul Majid, Chairman, All Kashmir Transporters Association.
Ghazi said, “We are giving one week ultimatum to government to increase fare or face agitation.”
In Kashmir valley, the strike coincided with the separatist-sponsored shutdown. In the winter capital of the state, normal life was paralyzed due to the strike. The strike affected work in offices while most educational institutions remained closed for the day.
The call for wheel-jam was supported by Auto-Rickshaw Union, Taxis Union, Minibus Union, Jammu-RS Pura Buses Union, Jammu-Kathua Route Bus Union, Jammu-Poonch Bus Union and others. The district administration had deployed 10 State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) buses from Jammu Railway Station to Jammu Bus Stand to provide some relief to the commuters, particularly the tourists. The strike affected everyone including students and office goers. The people were seen asking for lift from private vehicle owners. The attendance of students in different colleges across the city remained thin and office goers reached late at their work places besides facing many difficulties.
Transporters staged a protest demonstration at Indira Nagar Chowk to highlight their demands. They raised slogans against the state government, demanding early hike in fares. They threatened to go on indefinite strike if the government failed to concede their demand within one week.
Addressing the protesters, general secretary AJKTA, Vijay Sharma said the government was adopting delaying tactics. “The state government assured us that it would increase the fares before Durbar Move but nothing was done to meet the assurance,” he said. He claimed that the transporters were incurring huge losses due to recent increase in the diesel prices.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 19 Nov 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 19 Nov 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 20 Nov 2012 00:00:00 IST