Bus services across Karnataka were severely affected on Monday as an >indefinite strike called by Unions representing employees of State-owned transport corporations started. Several bus stands across the State were deserted as employees stayed away from work.
The strike, called for by unions demanding a 30-35 per cent revision of salaries as compared to the 10 per cent that the State is prepared to offer, was announced several weeks back. However, with the government sticking to its stand that anything above 10 per cent would not be feasible, Union leaders say that they had no option but to go on strike.
In cities like Mysuru, Hassan, Belagavi, Mangaluru and Bengaluru, commuters could be seen struggling to find alternative means of transport. In Hassan, private buses saw an opportunity to make fast money and were charging up to Rs.100 extra than the price charged by the KSRTC.
In order to dampen the effect of the strike, several organisations were asked to step in and operate extra services. As a result, Namma Metro, which usually sees a ridership of 600-700 on opening at 6 a.m. saw 2,204 passengers take the metro between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. on the Purple line (East-West corridor). An additional 804 people took the Green Line (North line) in the morning.
The South-Western Railway (SWR) announced that all mail and express trains would halt at Baiyappanahalli, Whitefield, Carmelaram, Channasandra stations in both directions besides trains from Bengaluru and Mysuru halting at the Nayandahalli station. “The Tippu Express will stop at Ramanagaram, Channapatna and Kengeri and a special train was announced between Bengaluru and Tumakuru and it will leave Tumkuru at 1:30 p.m,. halting at all stations,” a statement by the Bengaluru division of the SWR said.
All four transport corporations have incurred a loss of almost 9 lakh rupees till 9 a.m. with the KSRTC bearing the brunt of attacks on buses in which its 49 buses were damaged. The BMTC saw 4 buses damaged, while the NWKRTC and the NEKRTC saw 12 and 27 buses damaged respectively.
Our Tumakuru Correspondent reports:
Tumakuru city bus station wore a deserted look on Monday morning as the bus services including city services were stopped as the drivers, conductors and mechanics did not report for duty. Usually Tumakuru city bus station will be crowded on Monday mornings as thousands of people and students go to Bengaluru for work and to study after the weekend.
Divisional Controller of Karnataka Road Transport Corporation, Tumakuru, F.C.Hiremutt, told The Hindu , "638 buses have been stopped from 5 a.m. on Monday due to the absence of the drivers, conductors and mechanics." Around 2,600 employees, majority of them are drivers, conductors and mechanic,s have not come for duty; only a few administrative staff have come, he said.
The drivers and conductors who were supposed to start their duty on Sunday from 2 p.m. had not turned up and hence those bus services were suspended. Almost 25 percent bus services were suspended on Sunday, he said.
Two buses damaged
One bus from Pavagada depot and one from Turuvekere bus depot in the district were damaged due to stone pelting at Hassan, but yet to be confirmed, he said.
No holiday for schools, colleges
Schools and colleges were not given holiday as 70 pe rcent of schools have their own buses and also as the district has 50 per cent private buses, Deputy Commissioner K.P.Mohan Raj said.
The private buses and autorickshaws are charging higher fare due to the strike. From Tumakuru to Bengaluru, the private buses are charging Rs.50 more than the usual fare.
A government employee, Sunitha, said "I had to pay Rs.100 from Town Hall Circle to Government College in Tumakuru city." Earlier, she used to pay Rs.30 for the same distance.
Our Dharwad Correspondent reports:
Normal life was paralised as the North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) buses did not enter the roads on Monday. The city as wells as the Central bus stand presented an empty look. The entire city wore a deserted look as the flow of people from the rural areas and interior places was blocked due to the non-availabilty of bus services. Although some private buses and vehicles did ply, their access was limited in the city and nil in the villages as the State buses are the major modes of commuting here.
The district administration had declared a holiday for schools and colleges and the Karnatak University was forced to postpone the counseling for admission to variou postgraduate courses which were scheduled for three days starting from Monday.
The NWKRTC worker's union held a protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office urging the government fulfill the demands.
Our Mangaluru Staff Correspondent reports:
Attendance of students in schools and colleges in Dakshina Kannada, more so in rural places, was less in light of the strike by transport employees. Students staying in Krishnapura, Jokatte, Ulaibettu, Bajpe and Adyar, which are served by KSRTC buses, could not come to college. The attendance of students in Government Women's College, Balmatta, and the Government College, Car Street, was less. Schools and colleges in Bantwal, Belthagady, Puttur and Sullia were largely affected as people rely greatly on KSRTC buses.
Nearly 50 per cent of students of Government PU College, Uppinangady, failed to turn up because of the strike. Nearly 700 of the 1,350 students in this college rely on KSRTC buses to reach the institution. Similar was the attendance of students in Government Colleges in Kadaba and Keyoor in Puttur Taluk. Students had to travel on the footboard of private buses in Kadaba.
The problem was not so pronounced in Government PU College in Kaniyoor in Puttur where students used private vehicles to reach the institution.
Our Mysuru Special Correspondent reports:
While most bus commuters in Mysuru stayed home or used private transport in the wake of the strike, the number of passengers travelling by train too reported a marked decline. Contrary to expectations that the number of train passengers will surge on Monday, sources in the Railway station in Mysuru said barely 1,000-1,200 tickets had been sold to outbound passengers from the ticket counter at the western entrance. "Normally, 2,000 tickets re sold from this counter by noon. Today, the numbers were less", the sources said.
Meanwhile, a large number of private buses, maxi-cabs and taxis lined up outside the suburban bus stand to ferry passengers to various destinations including Bengaluru. Several passengers who had arrived at the bus stand to travel were seen boarding private buses.
Most schools and colleges remained closed in Mysuru in accordance with the decision taken by Deputy Commissioner C. Shikha. Many schools sent SMSes to the parents of their students on Sunday night, informing them about the government's decision to declare a holiday in view of the bus strike.
Schools closed for two days
Our Bidar Special Correspondent reports:
Government, aided and unaided schools will remain closed across Bidar district on Monday and Tuesday. Deputy Director of Public Instruction Shiva Kumar Swamy said Deputy Commissioner Anurag Tewari had announced a two-day holiday for schools in the wake of the NEKRTC employees strike. However, CBSE schools including the Central School and Air Force School in Bidar Air Force Station, functioned as usual on Monday.
KSRTC Kolar division lost Rs. 45 lakh revenue
Our Kolar Correspondent reports:
The strike call given by the staff unions of KSRTC evoked good response in Kolar district on Monday. All the buses of the Kolar division remained off the road. Schools and colleges in the district remained closed as Deputy Commissioner K.V. Thrilokchandra declared a one-day holiday for them.
The people had to depend mainly on private buses and autos. The KSRTC bus stand and other places wore a deserted look. “No buses from any of the five depots in the district plied," KSRTC Kolar Divisional Controller P. Yashwanthkumar told The Hindu . On an average 1.25 lakh people used to travel by KSRTC buses in this division in 556 schedules daily, he added.
