Private bus operators have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman seeking complete exemption of EMIs, tax and insurance fees for the next six months.

A body that represents the operators of nearly 7,000 private buses in Calcutta has mailed to both explaining why the waiver was required to save the industry that employs around one lakh people directly or indirectly.

There are around 11,000 private buses in Calcutta and more than 42,000 in Bengal.

Tapan Bandopadhayay, the general secretary of the Joint Council of Bus Syndicate, has said in the mail that bus operators pay between Rs 45,000 and Rs 50,000 every month on various heads, including EMIs to banks, insurance costs and annual road taxes. Operators have to pay this amount irrespective of whether buses ply or not.

Bandopadhayay has requested the Prime Minister and the finance minister that unless these amounts were waived, the entire industry, which has always been one of the largest employers in the unorganised sector, would collapse.

The state government collects road tax. Operators hope that if the Centre temporarily waives the EMIs and insurance charges, the state will follow suit and waive road tax.

“It’s not about deferring the payment but complete waiver. How will a bus operator pay Rs 1.5 lakh after, say, three months of lockdown?” asked Bandopadhayay.

“The passenger count was drastically dropping even before the lockdown kicked in. How will the operators earn to pay the EMIs and meet their family expenses?”

Private bus operators in Calcutta have been struggling for some time since the state decided to increase the fleet strength bringing in air-conditioned buses and battery-operated buses on some of the most popular routes across Calcutta.