Bus services hit as PRTC, Roadways staff protest

Buses run by state-owned Punjab Roadways and Pepsu Road Transportation Corporation (PRTC) remained off road for nearly two hours on Thursday as employees held state-wide protests, demanding the rollback of the kilometre scheme.

The stir, staged from 12 noon to nearly 2 pm, left thousands of commuters stranded at bus stands across Punjab. The scheme has drawn criticism from employees for long, with their unions alleging that it has become a source of corruption. It allows public transporters to rope in private operators to run their buses on government-decided routes.

Private bus operators are responsible for the hiring of drivers while bearing fuel and maintenance costs. They are paid based on the kilometres covered by them.

The employees allege that the private players, many of whom are influential people, siphon off funds and inflate kilometre numbers for higher profits.

Employee unions also contend that the scheme amounts to privatisation, increases job insecurity and denies contractual workers the chance for regular employment. They accused the AAP government of introducing “backdoor privatisation”. Harkesh Kumar Vicky, a union leader, said, “The government should focus on purchasing new buses and regularising existing employees instead of handing over routes to private contractors. We are demanding an immediate rollback of the kilometre scheme tenders and regularisation of contractual staff.” However, PRTC Chairman Ranjodh Singh Hadana said around 80 per cent of buses remained operational during the protest as only one union had participated. “The scheme is beneficial for PRTC. We have a fleet of 1,184 buses. Our daily receipts range between Rs 2.5 crore and Rs 3 crore, of which Rs 1.3 crore is in cash. Today’s protest caused a loss of Rs 20 lakh,” he said.