Ludhiana passengers suffer as striking staff keep bus stand closed for 4 hrs

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, September 9

The passengers were a harried lot as the Amar Shaheed Sukhdev Interstate Bus Stand here was kept closed for nearly four hours by the contractual employees of Punjab Roadways, PUNBUS and PRTC to mark their protest against the state government.

A number of passengers were also seen standing outside the bus stand, waiting for private buses in the scorching heat. Several passengers were waiting for buses inside the bus stand too.

The buses were not allowed to enter or exit bus stand during the protest. The private buses, however, were operational from outside the bus stand amid the protest. Meanwhile, traffic snarls were also witnessed outside the bus stand as many private buses were stationed on the main Link Road and service lanes. Also, some buses were parked on a stretch connecting the bus stand with the flyover on Link Road.

A passenger said, “The common people should not be harassed by shutting down the bus stand. The government should resolve the issue and employees should not cause inconveniences to the public for their demands.”

It was the fourth day of the strike called by the Punjab Roadways, PUNBUS, PRTC Contract Workers Union Punjab. Thus, the majority of government-run buses operated by the contractual staff did not ply on the roads today.

The contractual employees have been demanding regularisation of their services and adding a new fleet of buses to the service for a long time. The union members have also demanded that private buses should not be allowed to ply on the routes designated for government buses.

The protesting employees accused the state government of ignoring their demands. They blamed the Capt Amarinder Singh government for failing to eliminate the transport mafia from the state. They said the union will gherao the ‘Siswan farm house’ of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday.

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