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Not a single ST bus will move out of depots from midnight Sunday: MSRTC union
MSRTC workers’ union announced that not a single bus would drive out of any of the depots in the Pune division from Sunday 12am
PUNE: In a major impact on transportation due to the ongoing Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) workers’ strike across the state, thousands of passengers were unable to travel to their villages and hometowns as workers from several depots in the Pune division suddenly went off work. Meanwhile, the MSRTC workers’ union announced that not a single bus would drive out of any of the depots in the Pune division from Sunday 12am.
Sandeep Shinde, state president of the MSRTC workers’ union, said, “We have decided to keep 100% bus operations closed from as the state government is not ready to listen to and understand our problems. The organisation is already going through huge financial losses and the time has come for it to be merged with the state government. As Diwali vacations were underway last week, we worked so as to earn some revenue. But now the protest will get more aggressive till our demands are fulfilled.”
“As of Sunday, more than 115 depots across the state are closed and this number will only increase as more and more workers join the protest,” Shinde said.
Not a single state transport bus moved out from the Pune division depots at Indapur, Vallabhnagar, Narayangaon and Rajgurunagar on Sunday. The protest will spread to other major state transport stands such as Swargate, Shivajinagar and Pune railway station from Monday. Due to the strike, passengers have to travel by private tourist buses which are charging high fares.
Ashok Sonawane, a passenger, said, “On Sunday, I had come to the Vallabhnagar ST stand to catch a bus for Mumbai but as the depot was not operational, I had to take a private tourist bus for Rs700 a ticket. This is like looting passengers and the state government should immediately find a solution as the common public is suffering during the festive season.”
