Strike by roadways employees gets mixed response in Haryana
Gurugram, January 24
A large number of passengers across the state faced inconvenience today due to the strike call given the Haryana Roadways Karamchari Sanjha Morcha in protest against new penal provisions related to hit-and-run-cases in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Demanding withdrawal of the new law, roadways employees also asked the state government to fill all vacancies in state roadways on a regular basis. They also demanded the regularisation of all contractual employees’ services, regular jobs for the youth by dissolving the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam Limited, LTC benefit for all employees and installation of fog lights in all buses.
They also demanded filling of vacant posts in workshops on a regular basis, promotion of employees recruited under the Group D category, increase in the pay grade of drivers, operators and clerks, and restoration of Old Pension Scheme. The roadways employees staged protests at almost all bus depots in the state. Sandeep Dalal, president, Gurugram depot of Haryana Roadways Workers Union, said roadways unions had submitted memorandums to the Union and state governments regarding their demands, including withdrawal of the new law related to hit-and-run incidents, but to no avail, leading to their one-day strike. “If our demands are not met, we will intensify our strike in the coming days,” he said.
However, the impact of the strike was partial here as most of the buses operated on long routes in the morning. In the day, some buses remained off roads. The roadways employees’ union related to the scheduled castes category did not participate in the strike.
Hisar: The strike was a complete success in Hisar district as roadways buses remained off roads. Employees staged a protest in favour their demands. Surender Maan, a protester, said the bus service here remained suspended today. The bus service was also affected in Fatehabad, Sirsa, Jind and Bhiwani districts.
Jhajjar: The strike couldn’t evoke a good response in the district. Parmod Kumar, station supervisor, said the bus services started at 4:30 am. “All buses were running as per their schedule,” he said. However, in Rewari and Mahendragarh districts, passengers suffered due to the strike.
Panipat: A partial impact of the strike was seen in the district, while there was no impact in Sonepat district. Kuldeep Singh, GM Roadways, Panipat, said 70 per cent of the bus service was operational. Rahul Jain, GM Roadways, Sonepat said there was no impact of the strike.
Karnal: There was no major impact of the strike in the district. Both roadways and private buses were running smoothly. All 74 scheduled buses were operational. In Kaithal district, the strike witnessed a mixed response, though some areas experienced minor disruptions.
Ambala: The Ambala Cantonment bus stand did not witness major impact of the strike. Besides local buses, private transporters and buses from Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh were running. Jaiveer Singh, general secretary of the roadways union, said “Our strike was successful. The government should fulfill the demands otherwise the union will be forced to take some tough decisions.” Ashwani Dogra, GM Roadways, said “Ambala has a fleet of 190 buses and more than 100 buses plied on the roads till evening.”
Yamunanagar: Passengers here faced inconvenience as at least 133 buses of the total 188 buses remained off roads. Private buses were running as per their schedule. In Rohtak, passengers boarded private buses due to the strike.
Faridabad: There was no impact of the strike in Faridabad district as all government and private buses operated as per the schedule.
