The Luxury Bus Owners Association on Sunday announced that all inter-state services operating between Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu will be suspended.
The Kerala state association committee said in a statement that the operation of tourist buses from Kerala to the neighboring states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka will be stopped from 6 pm on Monday, PTI reported.
State Association president AJ Rijas said the decision was taken after neighboring states started imposing heavy fines, levying illegal taxes at the state level and confiscating All India Tourist Permit (AITP) buses belonging to Kerala operators.
General Secretary Maneesh Sasidharan said that despite having valid AITPs issued under the Central Government’s Motor Vehicles Act, tourist vehicles from Kerala are being stopped, fined and impounded in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
“For more than a year, the Tamil Nadu authorities have been arbitrarily collecting taxes from vehicles registered in Kerala, causing repeated harassment to operators and passengers. During this period, the Kerala government has taken a very supportive and supportive approach and refrained from retaliating in the hope of a joint solution,” the association said.
Many are now afraid to operate interstate because of the threat of financial loss and vehicle impoundment, they said.
The association clarified that this service suspension is not a voluntary protest but an enforced measure for the safety of vehicles, drivers and passengers.
The association requested the Kerala Transport Minister and the Transport Commissioner to immediately intervene with the Governments of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and the Department of Road Transport and Highways to end these illegal practices and ensure uniform implementation of the AITP framework in all southern states.
The association has also written a letter to Kerala Transport Minister KB Ganesh Kumar to look into the matter. “With the timely intervention of the Kerala government and central authorities, the issue can be resolved amicably and normal inter-state tourism operations can be resumed soon,” the association added.
