Thiruvananthapuram: Private bus owners across Kerala have declared a statewide strike on Tuesday, following the failure of discussions with the Transport Commissioner. The strike has been called by the Bus Owners Joint Committee, a coalition representing various bus owners’ associations.

The key demands behind the protest include timely renewal of permits, revision of student concession fares, withdrawal of mandatory police clearance certificates for staff, elimination of excessive penalties issued via e-challans, and opposition to the compulsory installation of high-cost electronic monitoring devices.

Committee representatives have warned that if a resolution is not reached within the next week, they will escalate the protest into an indefinite strike starting 22 July.