Mumbai, Jan 28 : The Congress party has strongly opposed the 15 per cent fares of the state transport (ST) buses from last week and has asked the Maharashtra government to immediately revoke it.

'The BJP alliance government, which showered promises of benefits on the public during the Assembly elections, began exploiting the people as soon as it came to power. Already failing miserably at controlling inflation, the government has now burdened the common people by increasing ticket fares for the lifeline of the state, the ST buses, by 15 per cent. It should be immediately withdrawn,' said the state Congress chief Nana Patole.

Patole said that while ST bus services operate in every corner of the state, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation is unable to provide proper services.

'The poor management of the ST Corporation has left common passengers in the state to suffer. In rural areas, the condition of ST buses is deplorable, and even the Shivshahi buses introduced under the scheme are in poor shape. Despite failing to provide adequate services, the government has increased fares by 15 per cent citing inflation. If Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik himself claims to have no knowledge of this fare hike, then why should he remain in his position? It is shocking that the Minister is unaware of what is happening in his department. Officials who made this decision without consulting the Minister should be suspended,' he added.

Patole further stated that the Minister, who claims to be unaware of the decision about fare hike, seems more interested in handing over the ST Corporation's 1,360 hectares of land to builders.

'The ST Corporation has become a hub of corruption, and eliminating this corruption would eliminate the need for a fare hike,' he alleged.

Meanwhile, amid rising cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) in the state and so far one death, Patole demanded that the public health department must take immediate steps to prevent the spread of this disease and create awareness through necessary precautions.

'The state government must act on a war footing to control the spread. Contaminated water and unhygienic conditions are believed to cause this disease. Despite 11 years of campaigns like 'Har Ghar Nal, Har Nal Mein Jal' and 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan,' if clean water is still not available, one must conclude that these initiatives exist only in advertisements,' he claimed.

/IANS