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Resentment against hike in bus fare mounting in Bhopal

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NK SINGH Though a Govt. directive has frustrated the earlier efforts of the MPSRTC to increase the city bus fares by as much as 300 per cent, the public resent even the 25 per cent hike. It is "totally unjust, uncalled for and arbitrary", this is the consensus that has emerged from an opinion conducted by "Commoner" among a cross-section of politicians, public men, trade union leaders, and last but not least, the common bus travelling public. However, a section of the people held, that an average passenger would not grudge a slight pinche in his pocket provided the MPSRTC toned up its services. But far from being satisfactory, the MPSRTC-run city bus service in the capital is an endless tale of woe. Hours of long waiting, over-crowding people clinging to window panes frequent breakdowns, age-old fleet of buses, unimaginative routes and the attitude of passengers one can be patient only when he is sure to get into the next bus are some of the ills plaguing the city b...
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AIR unaware of price hikes

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NK SINGH

BHOPAL: The All India Radio authorities at Bhopal seem to be unaware of the sky-rocketing prices.

To the utter dismay of the listeners, for the past few months, the prices of wheat have not been included in the food-grain price list daily broadcast by the Bhopal station of AIR.

Though the Department of Economics and Statistics of the State Government supplies the wheat prices along with the prices of other commodities daily to the AIR, the latter find it more convenient to ignore them.

The reason for this shut-your-eyes step is said to be the too-honest data' provided by the department. According to the figures available with the department, the prices of wheat in the 'open market' vary from Rs. 1.50 to Rs. 1.60 per kg. According to the rates fixed by the State Government -- which now controls the wheat trade right at the very beginning of the production pipe line -- it should not have crossed the Rs. 1 mark.

Faced with this peculiar situation the AIR authorities were in a fix. However, they found a convenient way to save the ruling party from embarrassment: black out the wheat prices. For the past several months the wheat prices have not been broadcast at all. are

It is said that at one stage in the true holier-than-thou spirit, the AIR authorities had instructed the Department of Economics and Statistics not to supply the wheat prices since they were 'unable' to use it.

Though the Director of Bhopal AIR was unable to tell anything in this regard, the assistant producer of rural programmes, the broadcast of market rates falls under whose jurisdiction, explained to this correspondent that they were not receiving the price rates of wheat from the concerned department.

Blitz

January 1, 1974




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