The Private Bus Operators Association yesterday said it recently made a complaint to the Bribery and Corruption Commission to investigate the manner in which route permits were given to the Jaffna-Colombo buses.
The association’s President, Gemunu Wijeyratne said there were 70 buses in the Jaffna-Colombo bus service for which tenders were called for 16 buses but payments were made for only two buses.
“We want to know what had happened to the rest there. It seems there is a different set of laws for some,” he said.
He said there were a number of politicians both in the Government and the Opposition who are responsible for the corruption on the Jaffna Colombo bus route. “I have lodged a complaint to the Bribery commission and will mention the names of the politicians who were making money out of this,” Mr. Wijeratne said.
Meanwhile Private bus owners in Gampaha and Colombo went on strike yesterday due to the large number of long distance buses which are loading large numbers of short distance passengers. Wijeyratne said this has caused a lot of congestion in Negombo and other surrounding areas.