Calcutta, July 23: Private commercial vehicles, including bus, minibus and taxi, will not run in Calcutta on Friday.

Taxis could return on the road on Saturday but buses and minibuses could stay off longer, unless a government-blessed plan to get a fresh court breather for polluting vehicles succeeds.

Bus and minibus operators have vowed an “indefinite” strike — meaning they want to keep the pressure on till vehicles 15 years and above are allowed to run beyond a court-set deadline of July 31.

The state government, dragging its feet so far as in every contentious issue, today went through the motions of eleventh-hour discussions that yielded the lone relief of taxi operators’ decision to keep their strike down to a single day.

Transport minister Subhas Chakraborty not only advocated but also declared support if the transporters moved court to get the deadline extended. The government can no longer seek such an extension — it had used up the opportunity earlier and had given a submission that it would not return with another plea.

“I advised the (transport) operators to move court seeking a deadline extension. I promised to back them in court,” Chakraborty said, adding the government would not use strong-arm tactics to break the strike.

But if inconvenience leads to a public backlash, the government feels it has another ace up its sleeve: Citu’s once-feared muscle power.

The minister suggested that some of the private bus drivers and helpers — members of CPM labour arm Citu -— would ensure smooth running of the transport system. “If they continue with the strike, we will increase the number of buses even further,” he added after failing to avert the crisis.

Subhas Mukherjee, leader of Citu-run West Bengal Road Transport Workers’ Federation, said transport workers affiliated to Citu unions would run privately owned buses and taxis if the strike continued for more than a day.

The bus operators took the cue from Chakraborty. “We’ll move court (for a deadline extension) and see if the government backs our demand. If we see positive action from the government, we will think of withdrawing the strike,” said Swarnakamal Saha, spokesperson for the umbrella body of transport operators. The high court may be approached tomorrow.

Chakraborty, however, claimed he was ready for the strike. “We will press into service around 3,500 buses, including some private buses. Many private bus operators have told me they don’t want to take part in the strike,” he told The Telegraph.

Chakraborty “lost his cool” several times at the meeting with the operators and, towards the end, some began shouting “Subhas Chakraborty murdabad”.

The CPM has opposed the strike but the Trinamul Congress has lent moral support.

Trinamul leader Partha Chatterjee said: “We don’t want polluting vehicles and we are opposed to strikes. The situation has come to such a pass because of mishandling by the government.”

Saha, the leader of the largest bus union, was once close to Chakraborty but is now with Trinamul. Sadhan Das, leader of the other major bus union, the Joint Council of Bus Syndicates, is known to be close to Saha.