All-India transport bandh: KSRTC, BMTC buses and autorickshaws to go off roads today

Bengaluru: Get ready to fork out more for your commute to office on Thursday, as BMTC and autorickshaw unions plan to take part in the all-India bandh, in protest against higher penalties for drivers proposed in the Road Transport & Safety Bill. Most private cabs are booked, while the autorickshaws that will ply the city roads are expected to charge you more - as they already had late Wednesday!

With Friday (Labour Day) too being a holiday, much of the city has decided to skip work on Thursday and travel out of the city on Wednesday evening, leading to a big rush at several bus-stations across Bengaluru.

The all-India transport bandh on Thursday is expected to bring life to a standstill in Bengaluru and other parts of the state, as all state-run transport corporations – BMTC, KSRTC, NWKRTC and NEKRTC – will go off the road from 6 am to 6 pm.

The bandh has been called to protest against the Road Transport & Safety Bill, which imposes higher penalties on drivers. The bill has been proposed by the Union Transport Ministry. Some autorickshaw drivers and owners unions in the city too are taking part in the bandh. With over 1.2 lakh employees of state-run corporations going on strike, daily commuters in the city and across the state will be affected.

With Friday too being a holiday for Labour Day, many employees in the city are planning a long weekend. Eager to beat Thursday’s bandh, they rushed to several bus-stations across the city on Wednesday. Passengers, who had booked their tickets in KSRTC buses for Thursday, will be refunded. “We will start plying the services from Thursday night though,” a KSRTC official said.

Attendance at offices and business establishments is expected to be low. Ms Radhika Avasthi from Koramangala said, “I have a cloth store in Electronic City. I have no option but to take an auto or a taxi.” Mr Revappa of the KSRTC Workers’ Federation (CITU) said, “The penalty that is proposed to be imposed on drivers is not justified. The bill says if a driver is involved in an accident, he has to shell out Rs 1 lakh in penalties and four years in jail. It also encourages privatisation by auctioning inter-state highway routes for private transport players. Since the KSRTC cannot pay the high bid amount, private players will dominate these routes, and it is not acceptable by us at all. Since private operators are not concerned about their drivers, they are not participating in the protest.”

Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said, “As almost all the unions are participating, we have to stop the service. About 7-8 months ago, all transport ministers from South India had a meeting with Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, where he said he wanted a corruption free transport services and roadside amenities, and his suggestions were welcomed by us. He spoke about penalties for accidents as well and we were agreeable to it, but the quantum of punishment proposed in the bill is very high. It has to be redrafted reasonably.”

A representative from a private travel agency said, “We have rescheduled bus departure timings, especially for those buses that were heading towards Kochi so that they can cross Tamil Nadu before the bandh begins and reach the destination on time. But drivers from places like Kannur and Kozhikode in Kerala are not willing to drive on the bandh day, and we have withdrawn those services.”

Mr Shabbir, a manager from a bus travel agency, said, “Since we are private operators, we have no intention of participating in the strike.” Ms Pristine Abraham said, “I was planning to leave for Kerala on April 30, but because of the bandh, I left on Tuesday night.” As tickets were booked in most of the private buses, many have chosen to drive across the border on their own vehicles. Cab services were overwhelmed by bookings for Thursday. An employee from Ola said, “Majority of our slots have been filled for Thursday.”

City Police Commissioner M.N. Reddi has urged Bengalureans not to treat Thursday’s strike as a bandh. “It is a transport strike being observed by trade unions. All KSRTC and BMTC buses will run and no one can force the strike on unwilling people. Also, essential transport services will run in the city and public can use their own transport without any fear. Bengalureans are requested not to treat this as Bandh, and try to go about their lives normally.”

Alok Kumar, Additional Commissioner of Police (West), said: “To ensure a peaceful strike, a platoon of 30 Karnataka State Reserve Police, 30 platoons of City Armed Reserve police, 500 Home Guards, 300 Civil defence personnel and other civil police officers will be deployed to ensure law and order situation on Thursday,”