Nashik , Jan 21 The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) city unit has criticised the Shiv Sena-BJP combine, which heads the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) for its proposal to launch private bus services.

The NCP, headed by president Gajanan Shelar and its women&aposs Front president Sunita Nimase, yesterday staged demonstrations in front of its office to protest NMC&aposs plan to run city bus services, which is presently being operating by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), Shelar told reporters here.

He said that the NMC has already failed in its plan to run' Ghanta Gadi'(tractors) to pick garbages in 105 wards and to recover water-taxes and house taxes. It is now considering privatisation of these schemes.

" Then why is the NMC looking to start bus services?"he asked.
The MSRTC transports 70,000 commuters daily and provides services to both industrial units of Satpur, Ambad and other areas on a reasonable tariff.

Meanwhile, the MNS state unit general secretary Vasant Gite said that the NMC could start bus service on the lines of Indore, which the transport committee had recently visited to study the city bus service scheme.

City Mayor Vinayak Pande of Shiv Sena told reporters that the NMC would get financial assistance from Jawaharlal Neharu Punaruthan Yojana of the Centre for the proposed private city bus service.
" Hence we have tabled our proposal before the general meeting but many corporators of the opposition parties have expressed their disapproval in starting private city bus services," Pande said.