PRIVATE BUS OWNERS GO ON STRIKE IN PUNJAB

Chandigarh, After the police registered a criminal case against a conductor of Deep Bus Transport Service of Gidderbaha for allegedly molesting two sisters in Muktsar and the Faridkot police gave a clean chit to three students involved in the May 6 incident in which a private bus was damaged, private bus operators in Punjab went on an indefinite strike Saturday morning, bringing transport to a halt.
Private buses operators in Faridkot blocked all roads leading to the bus stand by parking buses in the middle of the road. Buses belonging to the state-owned transport agencies, PRTC and Punjab Roadways, which are not taking part in the strike, were also not allowed to enter the bus stand by the protesting bus operators.
Students and commuters were a harassed lot as they had to walk long distances to reach their destination after overcrowded government buses dropped them on the outskirts of the city.
The police were largely staying out of the way, not seen taking action against those blocking the roads in any of the affected towns.
“As many as 4,500 buses are off the roads today in the state. We are protesting against false cases being registered by the police against our drivers and conductors even without proper investigation.
“As a result of which, there is a strong resentment among our staff and private bus owners. That is why we went on strike,” Punjab Motor Union, (an organisation of private buses), General Secretary Rajinder Singh Bajwa said today.
Bus drivers and conductors of private buses held protests at various places, including Muktsar, Bathinda, Faridkot, Amritsar, Patiala, Rajpura, Khanna, Jalandhar, in the state and blocked roads leading to bus stands, causing traffic jam.
“We want assurance from the state government that proper investigation will be done into complaints relating to harassment or molestation before registering a case against a bus conductor or driver,” said Hardeep Singh Dhillon, owner of New Deep bus service.
“If the complaint is found genuine then arrest should also be made. But nobody should be arrested or booked on the basis of false complaints,” he demanded.
Bus owners were also protesting against the damage to their vehicles by protesters on the roads, alleging that police had failed to prevent such incidents.
“We want protection for our buses in the state as it is not safe now to ply buses,” Bajwa claimed.
In Amritsar, private bus operators blocked the entry and exit routes of Shahid Madan Lal Dhingra Inter-State Bus terminus (ISBT) as part of today’s strike. The commuters, including, pilgrims heading to the Golden Temple, were having a tough time reaching their destination.
In Jalandhar, passengers at the Shaheed E Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh Interstate Bus Terminal faced hard time to find buses to reach their destination.
However, buses belonging to Punjab Roadways, Haryana Roadways and J&K State Transport Corporation were seen plying. Some private operators like Kartar Bus Service, Doaba Coach and Saini Bus Service, who were plying their buses from outside the bus stand in the morning, stopped their services later on.
Assistant Sub-Inspector, Mangal Singh, who was on duty at the bus stand’s entrance, said, “I have not got any order from seniors regarding further action. However, talks have been on between senior police officers and private bus operators.