Private Bus Owners’ Assn. plans legal action against vandals

Irangika RANGE

The Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association (LPBOA) is planning to take legal action against the party which damaged 54 buses that operated despite the strike.

LPBOA President Gemunu Wijerathne told a press-briefing in Colombo yesterday that the strike by certain inter-provincial private bus operators was unsuccessful owing to the LPBOA and the State deploying more buses to prevent a breakdown in the passenger transport.

“It is obvious that their hidden objective was to sabotage the bus service inconveniencing and harassing commuters,” he said.

“Protestors had also attacked our bus operators and three were injured. Rules and regulations imposed by the National Transport Commission (NTC) have been violated by these protestors.”

He said it was clear this group had used bus operators for their personal benefit. Wijeratne noted that several private bus operators who were demanding kappan at the private bus terminal at Bastian Mawatha were behind the protest.

The NTC has already taken disciplinary action against some private bus operators for violating its rules and regulations. This section’s aim is to boycott work of the NTC and it is very wrong since the NTC has taken a number of measures to prevent fraud and corruption in the passenger transport.

He said the NTC has introduced a number of programs to streamline the private bus service. It has also imposed a number of rules and regulations which should be accepted by bus operators.

He urged the Government and Minister Dullas Alahapperuma to take action to stop fraud and corruption by several groups in the industry.

Wijerathne thanked bus operators and owners who operated buses during the strike.