Commuters hassled as strike by contractual staff hits bus service

Passengers across Punjab were left stranded as Punjab Roadways and Pepsu Road Transport Corporation’s (PRTC) contractual employees went on a strike to protest the opening of tenders under the Kilometre Scheme.

Services remained disrupted for several hours.

Daily passengers travelling between Patiala and Zirakpur spoke about the ordeal, with commuters Charanjit Singh, Kuldeep Singh and Maninder Singh saying, “Almost all buses are filled to capacity as harried passengers are hopping on to whatever bus they manage to catch.”

The employees called off the strike in the evening following an assurance that Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar would meet union representatives on November 19.

Union senior vice-president Harkesh Kumar Vicky said that next course of action will be taken after meeting the minister.

The Kilometre Scheme has long drawn criticism from employees, who allege it encourages corruption by allowing private operators to run buses on government-notified routes. The walkout by members of the Punjab Roadways, Punbus and PRTC Contract Workers’ Union left commuters in many districts inconvenienced and dependent on private buses.

Protesters also raised slogans outside bus termini across the state.

PRTC Vice-Chairman Balwinder Singh Jharwan, meanwhile, said, “We are not introducing any new or additional bus. Only the defective buses are being replaced with new ones.”