‘Neta’ buses in western Uttar Pradesh, claiming political connections using tags such as ‘Mulayam Singh Yadav Travels’ and ‘Lalu Prasad Yadav Transport’, will now be forced out of operations as the state’s newly appointed Chief Minister begins a crackdown on everything illegal that sprung up during the Yadav raj.



These buses, which usually lack required licences to operate and flout traffic rules, have been a cause of concern for security agencies and the transport authority.



Owners of these buses, around 70 in Agra and 200 in Firozabad according to the Economic Time’s estimate, have been using names of politicians to get away from traffic obligations. Besides this, these operators cause 30-35 per cent revenue loss to the state transport authority every month.

“Such buses have now become a rarity on city roads. We have been continuously keeping a track on their activities. In March alone around 60 have been penalised and Rs 6 lakh recovered in fine from them. We are conducting regular drives and making sure that unauthorised buses do not ply within the city,” Agra’s regional transport officer Anil Kumar said, informing that the crackdown has begun.

In Firozabad alone, fines have been imposed on 30 neta buses and Rs 3.5 lakh has been recovered from the owners.