Pvt operators make hay as roadways buses go off road

Private bus operators in the region had a field day on Wednesday as their buses remained in high demand owing to the strike by the contractual staff of PUNBUS, the PRTC and Punjab Roadways. As per the estimates, the private bus operators are learnt to have made over Rs 20 lakh additional income in a single day from Jalandhar.

The staff had been on strike on a call by trade unions to hold a nationwide strike for three days from today.

As many as 200 buses connecting the city with other parts of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, New Delhi, Jammu and Rajasthan remained off road in Jalandhar. On all these routes, transport firms had deployed more buses and staff to take advantage of the strike. Punjab Roadways officials said the department incurred losses to the tune of Rs 2.25 crore from across Punjab.

Even the daily commuters, especially the women who get to travel for free in government buses, had to face harassment. “The private operators ply buses as per their whims and fancies. They stop at every intersection on the way, every small town, which makes the travel time longer", said Sumandeep, a government school teacher, commuting to Jalandhar daily from Kapurthala.

Meanwhile, members of the contractual staff staged a dharna outside the Punjab Roadways workshop. Later in the evening, their senior representatives met the Transport Minister in Chandigarh to raise the demand of regularisation of the staff after which the union got some assurances.

Gurpreet Singh, member of Punjab Roadways, Punbus, and PRTC Contractual Workers Union, said the strike had been called off in the evening. “While the strike was to continue till July 11, we have decided to conclude it today. The bus services will resume by late evening", he said.

Jalandhar