The ongoing strike by city bus operators has paralysed transport services in Dehradun and adjoining areas leaving passengers at the receiving end.
The bus operators are staging a protest at the Regional Transport Office (RTO) in Dehradun since Thursday. They are protesting against the shared autos, locally called Vikram, that pick passengers from any point in the city against the Motor Vehicle Act. Bus operators of Premnagar, Doiwala, Sahaspur, Vikasnagar, Chakrata, Rishikesh and Mussoori also have joined the protest, aggravating the problems of passengers.
“I fear travelling in Vikrams that run speedily and stock more than permitted passengers. I thought of finding at least one bus to reach home and waited for about 20 minutes, but in vain. Finally, I had to take a Vikram,” said Suresh Rawat, 65, a resident of Nehru Colony, who had been looking for the bus at Tehsil Chowk. He said that buses were “more comfortable and secure” than the shared autos.
In May 2014, the Uttarakhand high court had ordered the state government to ensure that Vikrams pick and drop passengers from point to point and do not flout the permit norms. However, vikrams can be seen picking and dropping passengers at any point in the city hitting the business of city bus operators.
“It’s not only Dehradun city, which is ailing with this problem. All areas of Uttarakhand where Vikrams are operational have the same problem. The transport department has failed to control it (the problem) and the loss is solely of bus operators,” said Rajendra Kumar of Dak Pathar City Bus Association.
{{/usCountry}}“It’s not only Dehradun city, which is ailing with this problem. All areas of Uttarakhand where Vikrams are operational have the same problem. The transport department has failed to control it (the problem) and the loss is solely of bus operators,” said Rajendra Kumar of Dak Pathar City Bus Association.
{{/usCountry}}Keeping in view the strike by city bus operators, the transport department had organised a meeting on Friday. The bus operators alleged that instead of putting a check on vikrams, the officers threatened to seal the buses on strike and offered to run more roadways buses to ferry passengers. “It’s an irony that the officers threatened to seal our buses, but no one wants to check vikrams that are violating the national act,” said Vijay Vardhan Dandriyal, president, Dehradun City Bus Federation.