Mangaluru : Members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) held a demonstration at the State Bank private bus stand demanding basic amenities for passengers, even as they demanded the authorities to account for the fund collected for improvement of the bus stand.

Addressing the members here on Thursday, CPI (M) Mangaluru South Secretary Sunil Kumar Bajal said people as well as the party had strongly protested the then Deputy Commissioner Bharat Lal Meena’s decision to shift the private bus stand outside the city. The then bus stand at Hampanakatte was temporarily shifted to Sate Bank and even after 15 years, the authorities had failed to provide a proper bus stand for Mangaluru, he said.

A fee was collected from every bus being operated from the bus stand, and the accumulated amount of over Rs. 3.5 crore is lying with the Mangaluru City Corporation, Mr. Bajal said. The passengers were made to suffer at the temporary bus stand with lack of proper shelters and other basic amenities, while the MCC was shirking its responsibility, he said.