Commuters continue to face the brunt for the disagreement between the government and the transport department workers. The BMTC and KSRTC employees stuck to their demand. The Siddaramaiah government refused to budge. Why are the unions being insensitive to the needs of the city and its citizens? Can the two sides come to an agreement ad resolve the woes? End this, cry citizens.
Day two of the indefinite bus strike saw the police escorting the BMTC and KSRTC buses that resumed service on the persuasion of the corporations.
Bus 347C running between Shanthinagar and Majestic, which was the first to hit the road, was provided tight security with two policemen seated inside and police in Hoysala jeep and on motorbikes accompanying it. With no conductor onboard to collect the tickets, passengers got a free ride.
The police had to intervene again when crew members of a few private buses, operating from the BMTC and KSRTC bus terminuses to various parts of the city and state, began to fight over picking up passengers. The Upparapet police, who were present in large number, dispersed the crew and defused the situation.
Meanwhile, acting on complaints, the Halasur gate police seized a private bus operating between Attibele and the Majestic for allegedly charging passengers double the regular fare.
In the absence of regular bus services from both the BMTC and KSRTC bus terminuses, only a few people, who had arrived by train to the city, were seen waiting for buses here. They were entertained by a man wearing a Lord Ganesha costume.
But with the transport department allowing buses from neighbouring Andhra, Telangana and Tamil Nadu to pick up and drop passengers across the state, people from places like Chikkaballapur, Doddaballapur, Hosur, and KR Puram managed to reach the city without any trouble.
Five employees dismissed
KSRTC Divisional Controller Anil on Tuesday dismissed five of employees on charges of dereliction of duty and served notices to five others. Suresh and Revannappa from Kadur depot, Honappa and Pedanna from Chikkamagaluru depot and Jagadish from Sakleshpur depot have been dismissed for not reporting to work on July 26. Honappa is a driver-cum-conductor, while others are drivers. Mr Anil has also served notices to Srinivas, Yogesh, Shivakumar, Satish and Lakshmikanth for supporting the strike.
Earlier in the day, Bengaluru-Mumbai Airavat multi-axle bus was stoned near Rannebennur in Haveri district.
Cops crackdown on protesting staffers
The Upparpet police chased protesting KSRTC and BMTC employees, who tried to stop a few buses that arrived at the Majestic bus station from different areas of the city on Tuesday afternoon. The KSRTC management was trying to run some buses with trainee staff when the striking employees protested.
A few protesters tried to block the buses soon after they arrived at the Majestic bus station, creating a tense situation. The police, however, rushed to the spot, and chased away the agitating employees, allowing the buses to pass through.
The buses were plying from Jayanagar, Shanti Nagar and Shivaji Nagar bus stands to Majestic. Two policemen accompanied each of the buses to avoid any untoward incidents. A senior police officer warned that strict action would be taken against protestors who behaved violently. "Patrolling on sensitive bus routes has been intensified to allow smooth running of buses," he said.
Continuing their crackdown on errant autorickshaw, private bus and taxi drivers, the Bengaluru traffic police booked 1,391 cases till Tuesday evening and seized over 222 autorickshaws.
The Ulsoor traffic police seized private buses that were demanding excess fare from commuters from Anekal to K.R. Market. The driver and the conductors were detained by the cops after a few commuters complained to the police that they were being charged double the fare. A few traffic policemen got into the bus posing as passengers and caught the conductors red handed.
Drivers not on BMTC rolls?
Drivers of the 12 BMTC buses that hit the roads Tuesday afternoon were not on the rolls of the corporation, alleged a union member. “When we tried to find out which depot these drivers belonged to the police thrashed us. They had masked their faces to ensure that we could not trace them,” he charged. Some agitating transport employees alleged the government was using drivers from the police department to run the buses, but this was strongly denied by the police. There was high drama at the Majestic bus station when one of the drivers of a service between Majestic and Shivajinagar could not start the bus and passengers alleged he was drunk. Things returned to normal after he left the bus.
Some bus services resume
Despite the indefinite strike called by the BMTC and KSRTC staff unions, some bus services resumed Tuesday afternoon. The first to hit the road was Bus 347C, which left the Shanthinagar bus terminus at around 2.45 pm. Other buses joined it almost simultaneously from the Mysore Road satellite bus stand and the Shivajinagar bus terminus.
Among the staff who resumed work were two women conductors, who claimed they were acting on the orders of their superiors in the corporation. "My senior officers asked me to returned to work and I am following their orders. At the end of the day our motto is public service," said one of the women conductors. Although both BMTC and KSRTC officials claimed the staff were returning to work voluntarily, many had masked their faces to ensure that their striking colleagues did not target them.
The KSRTC is also likely to resume its Volvo services to Mumbai, Goa and Gujarat, among other places, starting Tuesday night. The corporation has taken advantage of the fact that the Volvo crew members are working on contract to remind them of the terms and conditions spelled out. "We have directed them to report to duty and hope to resume all distance buses," said an officer.
The credit for breaking the strike goes to officials of both corporations and the state transport department, who did not waste time in talks with the unions , but contacted staff on training and probation in city buses and warned them they could lose their jobs under the service rules for being unauthorisedly absent from work.
The decision of transport commissioner Ramegowda to allow around 85,000 private buses to operate on nationalised and non- permitted routes across the state in place of KSRTC buses also created panic among the corporation staff. Mr. Gowda, who recently sabotaged the strike by II PU valuators, used similar tactics to create a rift among the transport staff and get a section of them to resume work.
We are not responsible for any violence: BMTC workers convenor
Why are you so adamant on an indefinite strike?
It is not we , but the state government and Chief Minister S Siddaramaiah who are adamant. The CM has made it clear from day one that they will not increase our salary by more than 10 per cent, but we are open to negotiations. Although we want a 35 per cent rise in salaries we are ready a for 10 per cent cut in this revision. But the state government is not willing to budge.
On Tuesday a few of your union members tried to block BMTC buses and attacked drivers in the Majestic area. Why are you resorting to violence when drivers and conductors are ready to work?
We are not responsible for any kind of violence. If the government instigates it, it is responsible for any untoward incident that may take place. Some drivers and conductors have returned to work out of fear. It’s not true that they have willingly joined duty. The state government and the corporations are forcing them to do so. It is nothing but coercion. In Chikkamagaluru, KSRTC officials have suspended a few union leaders. An effort is being made to instill fear among all, but we will not give up.
Why do you say the government is forcing the staff to resume work?
I would like to know why the drivers are masking their faces while the driving buses ? They are not really interested in returning to work, but are doing so under pressure from the corporations. This should stop. There is no question of us buckling under such pressure from the government.
Poor labourers, patients and women are the worst hit by this strike. Why do the labour unions want to inconvenience these poor and downtrodden people?
The state government is responsible for this. We had given a strike notice 22 days in advance, but it did not act. So now these people are suffering.
How long will the strike continue?
Till the state government accepts our demands.
