The West Bengal government on Monday extended the deadline for installing location tracking devices with emergency buttons in private buses to May 31, according to a notification.
If any bus owner fails to install the device by May 31, he will be able to apply for a conditional certificate of fitness with a fine of Rs 50 per day being levied till the device is installed, it said.
The earlier deadline for installing the device was March 31. West Bengal Bus and Minibus Owners Association general secretary Pradip Narayan Bose said the government should have provided more time for installing the devices.
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"We will be installing the devices and the process has started already. But a two-month window is not enough. I doubt how many bus operators will be able to abide by the deadline. The daily fine will further impact the earnings of the bus operators who are bleeding in the post-pandemic situation," he told PTI.
Transport Minister Snehasis Chakraborty earlier told PTI that extending the deadline till December 31, as demanded by the bus owners, was not possible.
"Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is sympathetic to problems of every resident of the state, including the bus operators. But, they have to be a little more flexible. The devices are imperative for the safety of everyone concerned, including bus employees," he had said. Bose said the government has shortlisted 14 firms for procuring these devices and the association has already held discussions with them.
