By IANS,
Bhopal : Inter-state traffic between Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat has been hit hard as the two states have detained each other’s buses on various grounds. This has led to many bus operators cancelling their trips across the state border, officials said Friday.
The problem began a week ago after Gujarat detained six buses on contract with the Madhya Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (MPRTC), stating that these were plying illegally, officials said.
In retaliation, the MPRTC detained four buses of the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) Tuesday at Indore, sources said.
Three buses were, however, released after a fine of Rs.6,000 was recovered from two of them and Rs.19,000 from the third one. The fourth bus is still in the custody of the Indore Road Transport Officer, following non-payment of Rs.30,000 in fine.
“All the four buses from Gujarat were being plied illegally. They had no permit, no fitness, no insurance and even drivers were without licences,” said Indore RTO Dinesh Jain.
The MPRTC runs buses under contract system with private bus operators. Gujarat issues no objection certificate (NOC) to such operators under the MPRTC contract. After this, the Gujarat RTO issues a permit to operate Madhya Pradesh buses in Gujarat.
Earlier on June 19, seven buses from Madhya Pradesh were apprehended in Gujarat for varied reasons, including for lack of permit. Three of these were detained in Vadodara while others were detained in Ahmedabad, Surat and Chhota Udaipur.
According to sources, fearing seizure of more buses many operators in both states have cancelled their trips across the borders with the result that Inter-state traffic has been hit hard.