Roadways, PRTC contractual employees go on strike in Ludhiana, passengers at receiving end

Hundreds of passengers had to face difficulties as Punjab Roadways and PRTC Contractual Employees Union went on protest today on a call given by the state-level body. The union employees had closed the main gate of the new bus terminal in Ludhiana today and the bus stand wore a deserted look with none of the buses being allowed to enter the bus stand.

Talking to The Tribune, Shamsher Singh, state general secretary of the union, said that he was detained by the police at 4 am in the morning and was let out at 5 pm. “But it will not cast any impact on our struggle as ours is a just one, which we will continue,” rued Singh.

With the employees planning to hold a demonstration against the state government, the police in the wee hours today reportedly detained protesters from all over the state.

Passengers across Punjab were left stranded early on Friday after contractual employees of Punjab Roadways and the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) went on strike. Many passengers were seen travelling in private buses to reach their respective destinations.

One of the employees even climbed atop a water tank with fuel and threatened that he would not come down till all detained employees were released. The union is protesting against the opening of tenders under the controversial Kilometre Scheme. The tenders were scheduled to be opened today.

The scheme has faced criticism from transport employees, who feel that it encourages corruption by enabling private operators to run buses on government-notified routes. Union leaders called the policy a “backdoor attempt” to induct private buses and weaken the state-run transport system. Earlier also the scheme had faced criticism from the employees.