TDP Says ‘Badudu nama samvatsaram’ In AP

This Telugu New Year could be called ‘Badudu Nama Samvatsaram’ instead of ‘Subhakrut Nama Samvatsaram’ by Andhra people as they are being subjected to heavy taxation right from Ugadi, say TDP leaders.

The YCP government which had hiked power charges after Ugadi had increased RTC fares too, which will be burdensome for the poor and the lower middle class people. The AP government which had been facing criticism for not reducing the VAT on fuels is being lambasted for increasing the taxes.

The RTC increased the fares in the name of diesel cess. For Palle Velugu buses in which the poor travel, the fare would be hiked by Rs 2 as part of diesel cess, for express buses the hike is Rs 5 and for AC buses, it is Rs 10. This apart, a safety cess of Re 1 has also been levied.

Similarly, the minimum fare for Palle Velugu buses has been increased from Rs 8 to Rs 10, in addition to Rs 2 diesel cess and Re 1 safety cess, which together would come up to Rs 13 and to avoid giving change to the commuters, it has been round off to Rs 15.

The hike in cess and fares will help the RTC earn Rs 720 crore extra per annum, said RTC chairman Dwaraka Tirumala Rao.

The corporation incurred severe loss during the pandemic and on the top of it, diesel prices have been increased. The RTC has been reeling under losses so far. The fares have been increased under inevitable circumstances, he added. The hiked fares would come into force from Thursday.

“The RTC has been facing financial crisis for the last two years. The price of diesel has increased from Rs 67 to Rs 107 per litre. The RTC has been buying diesel in retail as buying it in bulk is costing more. The RTC suffered losses to the tune of Rs 5,680 crore during Covid crisis. The corporation is not able to afford meet the expenses of basic functioning,” he said, adding that they were being forced to impose diesel cess.

The chairman said that the corporation would lease out vacant lands in the possession of the corporation and also try to earn through cargo services. The RTC has been transporting around 61 lakh people to their destinations every day. The price of tyres and other accessories has also increased, in addition to the fuels. In fact, the corporation is in dire straits, Tirumala Rao added.