Call to invoke Motor Vehicles Act to permit city entry of Goshree buses

‘Legal hurdles cited by government can be overcome’

Even as the State government is citing legal hurdles that have to be surmounted to permit entry of private buses from the Goshree islands into the city, the demand is rife that the government invoke Section 102 of Motor Vehicles Act to overcome them. The Section empowers the State government to cancel or modify existing schemes that pertain to commuting modes, in public interest, said B.J. Antony, retired Senior Deputy Transport Commissioner, who served as Ernakulam RTO a few years ago. “Unnecessary delay in extending the services to city routes can thus be avoided, especially so since the Goshree bridges, which were built to enable seamless commute from the isles to the city, were commissioned over 15 years ago and islanders must get optimal benefit from them,” he said. The Goshree Vikasana Samithi and many non-governmental organisations too have been raising similar demands during the past years, since thousands of islanders were forced to purchase private vehicles and commute to the city, since private buses were not permitted entry beyond High Court Junction.