Transporters hike fares by up to 40 per cent
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, June 10:
The Federation of Nepali National Transport Entrepreneurs (FNNTE), the umbrella organisation of transport entrepreneurs across the country, today unilaterally announced up to 40 per cent hike in transport fares to be effective from tomorrow.
An emergency meeting of the federation decided to raise the fare of long-route vehicles by 30 per cent, medium- and short-route vehicles by 35 per cent, taxis ferrying tourists to and from Tribhuvan International Airport by 40 per cent and meter taxis by 30 per cent.
The federation has defined a route of more than 250-km as long route, 100-250 km as medium route and 25-100 km as short-route.
The federation took the decision following a hike in petroleum prices by the Nepal Oil Corporation last evening.
Meanwhile, government authorities kept mum on the unilateral hike in transport fares by the federation, which bypassed a government-formed mechanism, including the federation’s representatives to adjust transport fares in cases of fuel price hike.
General secretary of the federation Krishna Adhikary said the entrepreneurs were forced to raise the fares as an urgent measure, as the entrepreneurs had not raised the fares when the government raised fuel prices last time.
When asked why they bypassed the government while taking the decision, Adhikary said the federation did not trust the government. He said the transporters would suffer huge losses by the time the government mechanism decided to raise the fares.
“We have made only a minimal rise in fares. The fares would have been far more
had we increased them in proportion with the rise in fuel price,” he said.
Assistant spokesperson for the Ministry of Labour and Transport Management Girija Sharma said the ministry would initiate process to adjust the fares. She said the government-formed mechanism had recommended a hike in transport fares when the fuel prices were increased last time. But the decision had not been implemented as the representatives of the transport entrepreneurs rejected it.
Dealers refuse to sell fuel:
Nepalgunj: Petroleum dealers in the mid-western region have decided not to sell petroleum products until their four-point demand, including enough supply, security and scrapping of quota on fuel supplied to them, were met. At a press conference on Tuesday, president of Mid-western Petroleum Dealers’ Association Chintamani Dhital said the NOC must supply 200,000 litres of fuel a day to each petrol pump, besides providing 400,000 litres on the first day. He said they were forced to announce the strike after the Nepalgunj-based NOC office told them that they would get only 120,000 litres of fuel daily, which they said was far less than the demand.
The dealers have not been baying petroleum products from the NOC since Sunday. There are 150 dealers of diesel, petrol and kerosene in the region.
Once again there is hike in fares and another pain for students and common people! Anything to share...