Buses off roads in Vellore

Share autorickshaws and private buses come to the rescue of commuters

Transport staff sitting in front of government bus depot at Konavattam in Vellore on Friday.

Most of the government buses were off the roads in Vellore district following the strike called by transport unions. While union members said only 10% of government buses were operated on Friday, officials of the district administration said 30% buses were operated across the district.

With talks between the unions and the Transport Minister on wage revision and clearance of dues ending in failure, the former had called for a flash strike on Thursday evening.

As several employees of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) stayed away from work on Friday, very few government buses were spotted on the roads in the Fort City. Commuters had torely on private buses and share autos.

Collector S.A. Raman said 30% of government buses were operated in the district. “We have deployed police in government buses that were operated,” he added.

The Collector accompanied Commercial Taxes Minister K.C. Veeramani who inspectedthe Vellore New Bus Stand and depots at Konavattam and Gudiyatham.

S. Parasuraman, CITU district secretary , Vellore, said, “Only 10% of government buses were operated in the district. There are 10 depots in the district, and when compared to other places, additional buses were operated from the Gudiyatham depot,” he said.

Ticket fare hiked

With private buses filling in, he claimed that ticket fares were hiked in some of the routes.

“For instance, a private bus plying from Vellore to Chennai fixed the ticket fare as ₹120. But most of these buses had very few passengers,” he claimed.

The transport unions were demanding a minimum basic pay of ₹19,500. They wanted 2.57% wage hike once in three years.

“We want the Old Pension Scheme to apply to employees who joined service after 2003. Several employees, who retired from service, are yet to receive monetary benefits such as gratuity. The benefits have not been granted since 2013 for pensioners citing lack of funds with the corporation. We want the pending dues to be cleared soon,” he said.

Mr. Parasuraman also said that the corporation was facing staff crunch as no recruitment was done. “Due to this, employees have to bear more workload,” he said.

Tension in Gudiyatham

Tense moments were witnessed at the Gudiyatham depot, when the Minister Mr. Veeramani arrived. Supporters of the Minister and the union members picked up an arguement.