Chennai: MTC bus drivers and conductors reportedly went on a strike for over three hours on Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) after four MTC employees were allegedly attacked by a group of law college students near Sipcot on Wednesday.
Depot time keeper Ezhumalai (70), a retired government staffer, conductor Moorthy (53), Selvam and driver Ramesh were reportedly injured and admitted to a private hospital following the assault by students.
According to sources, a student of the law college in Pudupakkam boarded bus no. 102 at Tidal park bus stop on Wednesday morning. Conductor Moorthy asked him to buy a ticket and he replied that he had a bus pass. When Moorthy asked to see the pass, the boy reportedly took out his smartphone and showed him a picture of the pass. Moorthy said that he could not accept this and thus began an argument.
At one point, the conductor asked him to buy a ticket or discontinue his journey, and the boy bought the ticket.
Later at around 11.30 pm, a group of law college students went to the Sipcot bus stop and began a quarrel with time keeper Ezhumalai. Moorthy, Selvam, and Ramesh, who were at the depot at the time tried to pacify them. The students refused to listen to them, assaulted all four and left the depot.
As the news spread among drivers on OMR route, all buses on OMR, in Kovalam, Kelambakkam and Siruseri were stopped and the staff began a strike near the Sipcot depot. Kelakbakkam police arrived at the spot and talked to the protesters, but the MTC staff demanded action, saying that law college students were creating problems often.
Kelambakkam police registered a case and began efforts to identify the students with the help of CCTV footages. The buses began running again at around 3.30 p.m.
People on the OMR suffered for three hours with public transport failing. R. Meenaa, an IT professional working at Sipcot,, said, “After our shift, we weren't able to reach home as there were no buses. Other modes of transport were also affected due to traffic.”
