E-Paper
Protesting contractual staff to shut down Ludhiana bus stand on Sept 9
Demanding regularisation of services, the staff took out a protest rally on two-wheelers on Wednesday, moving through different parts of Ludhiana
Intensifying their strike for regularisation, the contractual employees of Punjab Roadways and PRTC have announced to close the Ludhiana bus stand on Thursday.
“A meeting was held between the state government and the union members in Chandigarh on Wednesday, but the government didn’t agree to our demands. The union has now decided to raise the agitation to the next level and close bus stands across the state on Thursday,” said said Shamsher Singh, district president of the Punjab Roadways and PRTC Contractual Employees Union.
Earlier in the day, the staff took out a protest rally on two-wheelers, moving through different parts of the city, including Model Town, Gill Road, Jagraon Bridge and Bharat Nagar Chowk while raising slogans against the state government for not fulfilling its promise made before the 2017 Assembly Elections.
Movement of traffic was disturbed at several points as the protesters took to the streets.
“The Contractual Employees Union of Haryana Roadways has also extended its support to our union that is protesting at the state level. The protest march was organised to apprise the public of the wrong policies of the government. We will continue the agitation till our genuine demand is fulfilled,” said Singh.
Passengers continue to suffer
With the strike entering the third day on Wednesday, passengers continued to have a hard time finding a bus to their destination. According to the bus stand authorities, movement of around 200 government-run buses has been hit due to the strike and passengers have to depend on private operators. The strike is also forcing women passengers to pay, while their travel in government buses is free.
