Click to play videoKolkata: Ten years, 14 hearings and 10 extensions of deadlines -- that's what the Bengal government has taken to implement the Calcutta High courts decision to check road accidents and cut down pollution levels.
Vehicles more than 15 years old will now be taken off Kolkata's roads from July 25.
The ban would apply to about 2,500 buses, 500 mini buses and 6000 taxis, roughly one fourth of the total number in the city.
"I know that the public will face difficulties once the illegal vehicles are seized. But we can't help. Despite repeated reminders the operators have not replaced the old vehicles,” says Bengal’s Transport Secretary, Sumantra Choudhury.
In the past few days, many accidents killed several people on Kolkata's roads.
In many cases it was found the vehicles were old and that the owners were resorting to illegal means to keep them running. Yet private transport operators have threatened to oppose the ban
"All unions are uniting to protest against this decision. We have no other alternative,” says President, Bengal Bus Syndicate, Swarnakamal Saha.
The state government is also impressing upon bus operators to do away with the commission system for staff on ticket sales and replace it with monthly incentives in an effort to clamp down on rash driving.
Transporters say replacing old buses with the new is a long process and withdrawing large number of buses will create havoc and public discomfort in the days to come.
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