The transport staff strike, which began across the State on Monday, cost both the Belagavi and Chikkodi divisions of the North-Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) dear, even as commuters were put to hardship.
Autorickshaws, maxi cabs and other private transport vehicles made a killing even as the two divisions suffered revenue loss of about Rs.1.25 crore. Travellers in the boundary areas of Chikkodi and Athani taluk had some relief because the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation buses were operating as scheduled.
However, buses were stopped from entering Nippani of Chikkodi taluk for a while in the afternoon owing to protests by the striking employees. However, a few buses that arrived later in the evening provided relief to passengers stranded in bus stations for long.
A few buses picked up and dropped passengers at boundary points near Kagwad and other villages of Athani taluk. But no bus arrived from Goa. Railway stations in Belagavi, Khanapur, Gokak Road, Raibag and Kudachi witnessed mad rush, with a large number of passengers boarding trains throughout the day. According to Nitin Hegde, Divisional Controller of Belagavi division of NWKRTC, the average revenue collection from 685 schedules daily is around Rs.70 lakh. In Chikkodi division, it is Rs. 55 lakh to Rs. 60 lakh from 641 schedules. In total, there are 720 buses in Belagavi division and 661 in Chikkodi division, none of which plied on Monday.
Meanwhile, many autorickshaw drivers tried to exploit helpless passengers by demanding two to four times the normal fare, even though the police, District in-charge Minister Ramesh L. Jarkiholi, and MLA Feroz N. Sait claimed that the traffic police were cracking down on them.
Holiday today
In view of the failure of talks between the striking transport employees and the government, the strike will continue on Tuesday. Deputy Commissioner N. Jayaram has declared it a holiday for all government, aided and unaided schools and colleges in the city.
Buses were stopped from entering
Nippani of Chikkodi taluk for a while
in the afternoon
