Punjab Roadways, PRTC contractual employees go on strike; bus services hit

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 after police allegedly picked up several union leaders late on Thursday night and early Friday morning.

The union had earlier announced a protest against the opening of tenders under the controversial Kilometre Scheme. The tenders were scheduled to be opened on Friday, hours after the union leaders were picked up.

Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) leader Darshan Pal condemned the alleged overnight raids at the residences of union leaders.

He said that instead of detaining them, the government should have held talks to resolve the dispute.

“The government celebrated the martyrdom day of Guru Tegh Bahadur with pomp and show just four days ago. He was a champion of human rights and laid down his life against oppression. And now, the same government is forcibly detaining union leaders. This is shameful,” he said, appealing to farmer, trade and democratic unions to stand with the protesting workers.

The strike by the Punjab Roadways, Punbus and PRTC Contract Workers’ Union caused significant disruption across districts, forcing commuters to rely on private buses. Daily travellers between Patiala, Mohali, Chandigarh and Zirakpur said they had a tough time reaching their destinations.

“Earlier, buses were diverted to Anandpur Sahib for the martyrdom day function, and today most are not operational due to the strike. Almost all buses are packed as harried passengers board whichever bus they can manage,” said commuters Dinesh Verma, Pardeep Dhingra and Gurpreet Singh.

The Kilometre Scheme has long faced criticism from transport employees, who allege 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. They warned it would lead to loss of government jobs, increased unemployment, higher travel costs and an added burden on the public.

The union members were seen raising slogans against the police by closing the main gate of the Patiala bus terminus.