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Ludhiana: Passengers hassled as more than 100 buses remain off road for 2 hrs
The sudden shutdown called under the banner of Punjab Roadways, Punbus and PRTC contractual workers union threw the bus stand into a frenzy where hundreds of passengers waiting to board their respective buses found themselves stranded in the middle of the working day
For the ninth time this year, operations at the Ludhiana bus stand were brought to a halt on Monday as contractual workers staged a two-hour protest. The shutdown, which lasted from 12 pm to 2 pm, was a direct response to repeated delays in salary payments, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded and causing significant traffic disruption.
The sudden shutdown called under the banner of Punjab Roadways, Punbus and PRTC contractual workers union threw the bus stand into a frenzy where hundreds of passengers waiting to board their respective buses found themselves stranded in the middle of the working day.
Passengers, particularly females, seemed scrambling from counters to counters in search of few operational ones. Several of them, laden with heavy carriages, were seen waiting anxiously outside the bus stand, unsure of how to continue their journey.
Expressing her concerns, Firoza, a traveller to Moga said,” We were waiting for our bus when all of sudden the bus staff announced that they will not operate anymore. I am the sole bread earner of my family who relies on government run buses as they do not charge any fares. But what is the use of a free travel scheme if after every few days we need to shell out money from our own pockets to buy the expensive tickets of the private buses.”
Another traveller, Ramandeep Kaur said,” It has become a regular occurrence now where all of sudden the workers shut down the bus stand. They said they are protesting because the government has not released their salaries on time. Their standoff is with the higher authority, but it is us, the regular travellers who are subjected to these hardships.”
Traffic snarls ensue
Additionally, the sudden strike by the contract workers threw the area outside the Ludhiana bus stand into utter chaos, as commuters struggled to find alternative means of transport. With the departmental buses off the roads, private buses scrambled to pick up passengers along the already congested roads, resulting in massive traffic snarls.
Meanwhile, the agitating union members noted that the department has been repeatedly delaying salaries over the past few months. To protest, they had previously given a statewide protest call on September 9, after which the salary budget was released. However, it had been over four days, and payments were still pending.
Parveen Kumar, general secretary of the union in Ludhiana said, “Every month, our salaries get delayed after the department releases the budget for it. It is only after we press for our demands fiercely by holding such demonstrations, they swing to action. Today also, we were in talks with them but they have not credited our salaries. It was only after we shut down the bus stands across Punjab, they credited it to our accounts by Monday afternoon.”
Kumar further noted that the department disbursed the salaries of regular employees by the first week of the month. It is only us the outsourced ones, who are subjected to delay. “ We don’t want to hassle the common commuters by such a protest but we also have a family to feed. It is shameful that due to its negligence, the department prompts us to go on such a strike.”
Dept attributes delays to contractor issues
When contacted, a senior Punjab Roadways official, speaking on condition of anonymity, attributed the delays to tendering issues with the outsourced firm managing the workers. The official said that the tenure of the current contractor, SS Security, has ended, and fresh tenders are expected to be floated soon.
“Since the tenure of the current contractor has expired, we are facing issues disbursing salaries on time. The department plans to issue new tenders soon, which will address this salary problem effectively,” the official noted.
