Amid the discord in the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra over some of the decisions taken during the tenure of the previous government led by Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde, state Transport Minister and Sena leader Pratap Sarnaik has now blamed the former regime for losses incurred by the state-run MSRTC.
Sarnaik was responding to a demand to extend concessions by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) to journalists. Speaking at a press conference in Dharashiv on Thursday, he said, “Women and senior citizens were given concessions to travel. Fifty per cent discount in buses for beloved sisters, free buses for senior citizens… Due to this, the corporation is losing Rs 3 crore every day. The situation has become like this due to this concession.”
“If we keep giving such concessions to everyone, I think it will be difficult to run the corporation, so I cannot consider this demand at the moment. MSRTC should reach every village. I will try to ensure that our buses reach new areas,” he added.
The Eknath Shinde-led government’s decision to extend concessions in MSRTC ticket rates for women and senior citizens had raised eyebrows as the corporation had been running on losses for years and was dependent on state government assistance to pay salaries to its staff.
Earlier, the Maharashtra government had repeatedly denied that the scheme caused losses to the corporation.
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