Commuters face hardship on the eve of Ugadi as the bus strike continues

Bengaluru: Thousands of regular bus riders are facing difficulty as the strike by transport employees continues.

The strike will enter its seventh day on Tuesday which is the longest till now in the four corporations’ history. The earlier record was of five days.

Many commuters complained about private bus operators demanding excess fares on the eve of Ugadi on Monday.

However, some of the drivers have returned to their duties. On Monday, STUs ran nearly 20 per cent of their buses. As per the available data, 3,235 buses were operational till 6 pm on Monday as compared to Sunday which witnessed only 2,663 buses on roads.

Of these, KSRTC ran 1,588, BMTC 452, NEKRTC 700 and NWKRTC 495. According to the officials, the number of bus services is increasing day by day. Prior to the strike, the transport corporations operated more than 18,100 buses.

On Monday, the transport department paid the March salary to the 10,430 workers who returned to work. These include 4,256 members of KSRTC, 960 of BMTC, 1,837 of NWKRTC, and 3,377 of NEKRTC. They represent a fraction of STUs total workforce. Usually, the salary is given before the seventh of each month.

The president of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, Kodihalli Chandrashekhar criticised the government to withhold the wages of striking workers.

He said, “For the government, the elections are more important than the lives of about 1.3 lakh transport workers. The March salary has not been paid to all employees even though Ugadi is on Tuesday. This shows the government’s stubborn attitude; it is not ready to listen to the problems of employees. We will continue to fight in a non-violent manner.”

A senior official of the transport department informed that 25 per cent of KSRTC’s services have been restored.

He said, “It is less than 10 per cent in the case of BMTC and more than 15 per cent at NEKRTC and NWKRTC. On Monday, our crew reported for work but faced disruptions across the state. Some groups staged demonstrations in front of depots and a few others tried to stop buses in the middle of the road. At some places, working staffers were manhandled. We hope the issue is resolved by April 15 or 17. But those protesting must report to the duty first.”

The strikers have demanded wages as per the 6th Pay Commission but the government said that it will lead to a 30 per cent pay hike which is not feasible and has offered an 8 per cent hike instead.

In the meantime, many commuters are forced to travel in crowded private buses, and taxi cabs in the midst of increasing Covid cases. Most of the private bus operators are not following the Covid protocols and only leave the stand when the seats are filled.

Jayanagar MLA Soumya Reddy tweeted, “Because of the strike, people are dependent on other transportation modes such as autos and cabs. Government cannot afford to take risks in this sensitive issue.”