Punjab Roadways, PRTC contractual employees go on strike, passengers bear brunt

Bus services were hit across Punjab on Tuesday as contractual employees of Punjab Roadways and Pepsu Road Transportation Corporation (PRTC) began a strike to demand a salary hike and regularisation of their jobs.

The protesters, however, called off their two-day strike in the evening following a meeting with the transport secretary in Chandigarh.

Punjab Roadways, Punbus and PRTC Contract Workers' Union vice president Baljit Singh said they were assured that their demand for a 5 per cent salary hike will be fulfilled by July 10.

''We were also assured that our others demands will be looked into,'' he said.

Singh said the contractual employees of Punjab Roadways and PRTC will go on a strike again if their demands are not met by July 10.

According to the protesters, around 3,000 Punjab Roadways and PRTC buses stayed off the roads.

This left many passengers stranded at bus stands in Sangrur, Ludhiana, Moga, Muktsar, Amritsar, Ferozepur, Hoshiarpur and Patiala, among other places.

Earlier, Punjab Roadways, Punbus and PRTC Contract Workers' Union secretary Gurvinder Singh said they were staging demonstrations at all 27 bus depots in the state.

Carrying black flags, the protesters raised slogans against the government and threatened to intensify their protest if their demands were not met.

In Ludhiana, Punjab Roadways, Punbus and PRTC Contract Workers' Union general secretary Gurpreet Singh said around 7,000 employees took part in the strike. Only regular employees joined work on Tuesday.

Around 200 protesters also sat on a dharna in front of the main gate of the local bus stand.

Many passengers were caught unawares by the strike.

In Ferozepur, 70-year-old Bheem Parkash and his 63-year-old wife Raj Rani of Fazilka said they had to planned to travel to Kota in Rajasthan to meet their children.

''We did not know about today's strike. Now, we are stuck in Ferozepur. The scorching heat and humidity are also creating problems for us,'' Parkash said.

A passenger at the Sangrur stand said he waited 25 minutes for a bus but none came.

Women passengers, who generally prefer to travel in state-owned buses because of the free travel scheme, were forced to take private buses.

A woman passenger in Ludhiana said she was waiting for a bus to Jalandhar but did not get one.

In Hoshiarpur, 40-year-old Rajinder Kaur said she and her family members waited two hours for a state-owned bus but couldn't find any.

Jatinder Kaur (32), who travels from Zira to Ferozepur every day, said she waited for a state-owned bus for an hour but in vain.