By IANS,
Agartala : Blaming the Congress-led central government for abnormal rise of fuel prices, the ruling Left Front in Tripura Thursday decided to hike by 20 percent fares of all passenger vehicles in the state, a minister said.
The revised fares would be effective from Friday.
“The central government has forced the state government to raise fares of passenger vehicles. Though prices of various fuels have increased by 20 to 40 percent, we have on an average increased the passenger fares by only 20 percent,” state Transport Minister Manik Dey said.
He told reporters after a cabinet meeting: “Despite protests from across the country, the prices of all fuels – petrol, diesel and CNG (compressed natural gas) were irrationally raised, burdening the spending of common men.”
According to the minister, since June 2010, when the fares of passenger vehicles were raised in Tripura last time, the petrol price has been hiked 40 percent followed by diesel 30 percent and CNG by 20 percent.
He said that in other states of the country fares of all passenger vehicles have been raised by 30 to 40 percent.
According to the government decision, the minimum bus fare for ordinary service will go up by one rupee from Rs.5 to Rs.6.
The hike of fare was decided partially accepting the recommendations of a high-power committee which studied the need for revision of fares in view of the rising prices of transport fuel.