Srinagar: Following the deferment of strike by transporters in Jammu and Kashmir, the government on Thursday accepted their demand by raising passenger fare by 19 percent.
The raise will be meant for all categories of commercial passenger vehicles including buses, cabs etc.
According to an official spokesperson, the approval for hike was given in the Administrative Council (AC) meeting led by Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha.
“The decision has been taken on the basis of cost analysis based on fuel rates, toll tax, operational and maintenance cost and losses incurred due to Covid-19 lockdown undertaken by the transport commissioner for the consideration of the Fare Revision Committee,” it said.
Earlier, the Committee recommended 19% fare hike to make the plying of commercial passenger vehicles in J&K financially viable, taking into account the prevalent prices in the neighbouring states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana.
Pertinently, the previous fare revision in Jammu and Kashmir took place two and a half years ago and the fare remained unchanged ever since.

Reader correspondent