Bhubaneswar, Sept. 17: Private bus operators today urged chief minister Naveen Patnaik to take steps to supply diesel to them at subsidised rates. They have also sent a memorandum to Union minister for petroleum and natural gas Jaipal Reddy to this effect.

Though the Centre hiked diesel prices by Rs 5 on Friday night, the diesel price in Bhubaneswar went up by Rs 5.96 because of one per cent entry tax and 18 per cent VAT imposed by the state government. The hike has led to a discontentment among bus operators. Autorickshaw drivers have already started demanding higher fares from commuters although private bus operators have desisted from enforcing any hike after the fuel price rise.

General secretary of the All Odisha Bus Owner’s Association Debendra Kumar Sahoo said: “Any increase in bus fare would be a direct burden on the passengers and around 80 per cent commuters who use public transport systems belong to lower income groups and would be hit badly.”

Sahoo said that if the burden passes on to the bus owners, they would not able to render their services and the transport industry would come to a halt. “The state government should take steps to slash tax rates and the excise duty imposed on diesel must be relaxed in case of bus operators. If we get subsidised diesel, the question of fare hike will not arise,” he added.

On the other hand, the government has demanded a rollback of the diesel price rise. Naveen said the common man, especially those belonging to lower class, would suffer on account of the steep hike.

The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee has demanded that the state should cut down on the rate of sales tax on petroleum products. “The fuel price is guided by market policy. It will certainly hit the general public. In order to provide relief to the people, the state should slash the diesel tax rate,” Congress state unit president Niranjan Patnaik said.