Roadways, PRTC contractual staff on strike, people suffer

Passengers had harrowing experience as contractual employees of the state-run Punjab Roadways and PRTC went on two-hour strike here on Tuesday. They staged a sit-in against the government, demanding the rollback of the per kilometre scheme.

Starting at 12 pm, the sit-in lasted till 2 pm. As a result, passengers had to suffer a lot. Gurdev Singh, a passenger, carrying a sackful of essential domestic items looked for a bus to his village at the Inter-State Bus Terminal (ISBT) said it was a rude jolt to him as buses were off roads.

While government buses were off roads, private transporters made most of the opportunity by plying buses from out of the ISBT as members of the state-run passenger transport utilities staged a sit-in at the entrance of the ISBT on Tuesday.

Most of the passengers were seen moving out of the ISBT after they learnt that buses are not being plied on account of the strike. A majority of the passengers were women. In afternoon, the ISBT wore a deserted look.

Harjinder Kaur, a passenger, said, “After paying for the charges on transportation she reached all the way from Verka area to the ISBT to board a bus to Khilchian.

Punjab Roadways Employees’ Union general secretary Jugraj Singh said they have gone on strike against the government’s “per kilometer scheme” as it will lead to privatisation of the transport sector and the government will not add new buses. On behalf of the Punjab Roadways and the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC), the private sector will operate buses for the public transport corporations, he added.

He said private transporters will run new buses, bearing the cost of maintenance, fuel and drivers. Elaborating on the scheme, he said the Punjab Government will provide a conductor and pay the private owner a pre-determined rate based on the kilometres covered.