A photograph speaks much more than pages of writing. This historic photograph of a Muslim man of Ahmedabad, fearfully pleading the Sangh Parivar goons to spare his life, speaks tales of terror, mayhem and pogrom let loose in Gujarat during the post-Godhra violence in connivance with and directives of Narendra Modi regime.
And, this photograph is the testimony for the plight, distress and despondency of the poor and even middle class people of Tamil Nadu reeling under the steep hike in bus fares, milk price and electricity tariff announced and effected overnight by Modi’s friend and incompetent and heartless Jayalalitha. This man Senthil (28) of Karapattu village in Tiruvannamalai district is a daily wage earner. His wife is Vijaya (22) and they have two children Maran (4) and Kanchana (3). He came to Chennai last month in search of livelihood and was doing construction work in Turaipakkam Sai Nagar staying there itself. When he was indisposed, he went to Tiruvannamalai with his family few days back. When he started for Chennai early in the morning on Nov.18, he gave Rs.100 to the conductor and asked for two tickets to Tambaram. But the conductor told him that fares had been hiked overnight to Rs.95 each and for two persons Rs.190 plus luggage charge of Rs.23 altogether Rs.213. After a quarrel Senthil managed to get tickets, got down with family members at Perungalathur and as he had no more money they went several kms by walk to Turaipakkam, grumbling why this regime is afflicting the poor and ordinary people. The bare footed couple and their children could have acquired slippers if they had had the excess fare amount of Rs.120.
In another such incident, a woman, Kalaichelvi of Kenikarai in Ramanathapuram came to Manamadurai and for returning to Ramanathapuram she got into a bus with her baby in arm and Rs.25, after midnight on 18th unaware of the fare hike in the night. When the bus crossed Parthibanur she tendered Rs.22 to the conductor for a ticket. When the conductor told her that the fare for Ramanathapuram had been hiked to Rs.35, she was shocked and asked to be alighted at Paramakudi for the amount she tendered. Moreover as she had tried to alight from the running bus with her baby in hand, the conductor was taken aback and from his own money he gave her the tickets.
An elderly woman in Chennai got into a MTC 41D bus at Mandaveli and asked for a ticket to ‘Gemini’ handing over Rs.5 to the conductor, who gently told her that the fare had been hiked to Rs.9. The woman was upset since she didn’t have a paisa more than the exact fare. “When did this happen? I don’t know. Stop the bus. I’ll get off,” she said. Since the woman was a regular, the conductor let her ride, but said, “Pay the difference tomorrow.”
This is the condition of the poor and lower middle class people, from whom Jayalalitha plunders money round the clock, round the days and years to come, purportedly for retrieving ‘funds-starved’ State Transport Corporations, Aavin Milk Society and Electricity Board.
When the lady launched Free PDS rice scheme in place of one rupee a kg. rice scheme, free fans, mixie and grinders scheme and free laptops for Plus Two students, she was hailed by her cronies as ‘Defending deity of the poor’. But what is the reality? How much is to be given to the people and how much is to be looted from the people?
Provision for Food subsidy on account of Free rice scheme for the year 2011-12 is Rs.500 cr. (difference between Food subsidy allotted in the interim budget for 2011-12 presented by the DMK government in February Rs.4,000 cr. and the allocation made in the Budget for 2011-12 presented by ADMK government in August Rs.4,500 cr.);
Provision for Fans, Mixies and Grinders – Rs.1,250 cr.
Provision for goats and cows – Rs.56 cr.
Provision for Laptop scheme – Rs.912 cr.
All totalling Rs.2,718 cr. is to be given to the people by her much trumpeted free scheme. If at all the proposed Free green house scheme and New Health Insurance scheme fructify they will cost another Rs.1,080 cr. for the year.
On the other hand the amounts to be collected from the people, by the ADMK regime are:
Taxes already levied prior to the budget - Rs.4,000 cr.
Through hikes in bus fare, milk price and electricity tariff – Rs.11,700 cr.
Total loot from the people – Rs.15,700 cr.
The ADMK government will fleece people to the tune of Rs.15,700 cr. and offer freebies to the tune of Rs.2,718 cr. What a colossal fraud on the people? If the people reject the freebies will ADMK regime withdraw these hikes?
Jayalalitha had defended the hikes saying they are unavoidable to save public sector units turning bankrupt etc., she had said that because of non-revision of bus fares for long corresponding to increases in the prices of diesel and other accessories and increase in salaries of employees, fare hike now had become unavoidable. The hike is so steep from 40 to 80 percent. Private bus operators in the State also running their fleet for the same fare and still make profits and acquire new buses every year. Except some difference in staff salaries, the other operating costs are the same for state corporations and private operators, who have also hiked their fare now with the government announcement and thus could turn their profits into super profits. The Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) is operating 3,000 buses. Compared to this, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has 6,000 buses, but its daily average revenue of Rs.3.72 cr. is nowhere close to double that of MTC’s revenue of Rs.2.22 cr. Yet BMTC makes a profit. This shows that the productivity of MTC workers is much higher as they are able to earn more revenue with lesser fleet of buses. Then why MTC is running on loss?
N.S. Srinivasan, former Director of the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre, says while mass transportation should be encouraged through a subsidy, inefficiency should not be subsidised.
“There are many operational indicators such as kilometres operated per day and passengers transported, by which efficiency can be quantified. Also, each bus terminal must be made to pay for itself by putting the extra land to commercial use. To increase fares without increasing efficiency is unfair.”
Brinda Vishwanathan of the Madras School of Economics says that public transport entities must not be viewed as just profit or loss-making, but as systems that benefit society.
“Profit must be seen as a means to carry out the social obligation, not an end in itself. Besides, if freebies such as grinders and mixies were curtailed, may be the government could have subsidised public transport without raising the fares. The question ‘What is a fair fare?' requires a larger debate. Only the public cannot be blamed. The answer may lie elsewhere.”
In the Budget presented by the ADMK regime in August last, it was mentioned, “Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporations provide the cheapest and most reliable public transport facility to the public. At present, there are 21,169 State Transport Corporation buses plying on different routes in the State. The financial health of the State Transport Undertakings is in a miserable condition and the State Government has to extend financial support even to manage their operational expenses.
"Our Government will bring more discipline in the staff, control unwanted expenditure and improve the operational efficiency of the Transport Corporations. It is proposed to develop existing bus terminals into multi level Commercial Centres, wherever land is available, with ground level covered bus depots under Public Private Partnership to generate additional revenue for the Transport Corporations. It is also proposed to introduce 3,000 new buses during 2011-2012 improving the level of service to the public.”
Were these measures taken by the government to improve operational efficiency of the transport corporations and if so, what is the outcome? Why the fare revision was not proposed in the Budget? Was it with an eye on Local body elections?
Similarly, there is a huge gap between the quantum of electricity generated and actual consumption. Transmission loss is to the tune of 18 percent and Aggregate Technical and Commercial losses (AT&C loss) are 19.3 percent. The unit consumption rate is arrived at without taking these 40 percent losses into account. Hence in the case of electricity also, improving operational efficiency and curtailing unwanted expenditure will bring down the so-called losses of the Electricity Board and hike in power tariff can be averted.
So also, the claim of Jayalalitha that ‘Aavin’ society was in good health when she left power in 2006 and it deteriorated during the DMK rule is a total lie. On the other hand when the DMK assumed office, Kalaignar had to clear over 2,000 files kept unattended by Jayalalitha and provide assistance to cooperatives and revive them. Because elections were not held for cooperatives during ADMK regime, Central government funds for several hundred crores could not be received. Whose fault is it?
A reader of The Hindu has posted the opinion that ‘it is not surprising that Jayalalitha has blamed the Centre and previous DMK rule for the hikes announced by her. She will even blame Obama for her problems’.
Instead of taking all these steps resorting to such steep hike in fares is atrocious.
Aavin milk prices have been increased by Rs.6.25 from Rs.17.75 to Rs.24 per litre.
Power tariff is to be hiked from 70 to 110 percent.
Can the people, already reeling under price rise bear these burdens? Her defence that she prevented flood before it strikes by raising a dam, only she can take bold decisions etc., are only facades for betrayal of people who voted for her. If they are true she should have proposed all these hikes ‘to save the people’ during her Assembly election campaign or atleast prior to the Local body elections. What is required is not ‘bold’ decision but sensible decision. Is it too much to expect it from Jayalalitha?
Let Jayalalitha be reminded of the Tamil proverb ‘ViH mGj f©Ù® Tça thbshL x¡F«’ which means, ‘Tears of the poor is akin to a sharp sword!’
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