Buses go off the road in Karnataka for second day

Talks between govt., transport unions stalled; one bus service resumes in Mandya Bengaluru, 26 July, 2016:The strike by employees of road transport corporations entered the second day, causing confusion and chaos on the roads as no buses plied on Tuesday as well. Several people switched over to alternative means of transport. A total of around 38,000 people took the Metro between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m. in Bengaluru. Maddur-Mandya service amidst police security However, one KSRTC bus started its operation between Maddur and Mandya on Tuesday amidst police security. Driver Prakash and conductor Bhagyamma of Maddur depot resumed duty around 3 p.m., much to the surprise of commuters, who were waiting outside the KSRTC bus station off the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway anticipating private buses. The commuters cheered and thanked the two for attending to the duty, KSRTC officials said. The bus left Maddur and reached Mandya by 3.15 p.m. The people at Mandya too were surprised when they saw the crowded (KA 11 – F0055) KSRTC bus with ‘Sarve Janah Sukhino Bhavantu’ (May all people be happy) slogan written on its windshield arrived. “We have been requesting the employees to return to work,” KSRTC Divisional Controller M. Deepak Kumar (Mandya) told The Hindu. Private bus sized In Bengaluru, the Halasooru traffic police seized a private bus and detained the driver and conductor for demanding double fare from commuters on Tuesday. Traffic police, posing as passengers, got into the bus that was going to Anekal from K.R. Market and detected the malpractice. Overcharging by autos was the major complaint in Bengaluru. This, despite efforts by the traffic police to curb this menace.Several autorickshaws were also seized by the traffic cops in and around K.R. Market, Majestic and City Railway Station areas for charging exorbitant rates from commuters. Meanwhile, talks between the unions and the government continue to be stalled as the government is insistent on the strike being called off before any talks can resume. The strike by KSRTC workers impacted many delegates who had come to Hassan to participate in the three-day national workshop on "Status of Dalits in the Post-Independent India" that concluded on Monday evening. Many had a tough time in reaching their destinations in different States. The workshop was organised by Dalit Shoshan Mukti Morcha and Dalit Hakkugala Samiti. More than 200 delegates from Maharashtra, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, and West Bengal, besides from different parts of Karnataka participated in the event. They included Rathan Bhoumik, Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Castes in Tripura, and five MLAs from the State. Many of the delegates had booked train and air tickets from Bengaluru to their respective destinations. They had to hire private vehicles to reach Bengaluru. Dharmesh, chairman of the reception committee of the workshop, told The Hindu, “We hired private vehicles to help our delegates reach Bengaluru. The delegates had to spend more than they had earlier estimated for their travel.” Holiday The Hassan district administration declared a holiday for schools and colleges on Tuesday. There was no holiday on Monday. “Considering the response to the strike on the first day (Monday), the district administration declared a holiday for schools and colleges on Tuesday,” said a press release issued by the district administration. Inconvenience in Dakshina Kannada Regular commuters, especially students, from rural parts of Dakshina Kannada continued to be inconvenienced on Tuesday because of the strike by RTC employees. Despite deployment of additional private buses and maxi-cabs, majority of students coming from remote areas were forced to stay back home. Unlike other districts, schools and colleges functioned in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi on Monday and Tuesday. “We did not want 90 per cent of students to suffer because of problems caused to 10 per cent of students because of absence of KSRTC buses,” said Dakshina Kannada Additional Deputy Commissioner Kumar in defence of the decision to keep institutions running on the two days. More private buses The district administration allowed operation of extra 28 private buses on the routes exclusively served by KSRTC in the district. As many as 40 maxi-cabs operated in Belthangady and Bantwal areas, while 18 maxi-cabs were allowed to operate in Sullia and Puttur areas. Despite these arrangements, commuters were forced to travel on footboards of buses and maxicabs to reach their destinations. The problem was acute in Belthangady, Sullia and Puttur taluks where there are as many as 44,000 KSRTC student bus pass holders. The KSRTC, Puttur division, operates buses on 300 routes in this division that reaches remote parts of the district. Several schools and colleges in Puttur, Belthangady, Sullia and Bantwal had less number of students on Tuesday. Bengaluru-Mysuru highway witnesses heavy traffic The Bengaluru-Mysuru highway witnessed heavy traffic on Tuesday. Accordding to the Public Works Department, vehicular density, both cars and motorcycles, on the highway had increased by at least 35 per cent. Because of the bus strike, people used their own vehicles to reach their destinations, a PWD official said. The vehicular density on the highway is usually around 55,000 PCU on normal days. Private bus and cab operators were seen exploiting the commuters by demanding double/more fare at all towns between Bengaluru and Mysuru. Hence, the commuters felt that it would be cheaper if they use their own vehicles to reach nearby places, the official said. Villagers affected in Dharwad region With the State government in no mood to heed to their demands, transport corporation employees continued their strike on the second day and the worst affected were the people from rural and semi-urban areas. While cities and bigger towns had the services of three-wheeler passenger vehicles (not autorickshaws), multi-utility vehicles and maxicabs to ply commuters between towns, those residing in villages were the worst affected as most of them were dependent on public transport buses. There were reports about patients undergoing treatment at Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences, appealing to the doctors not to discharge them from the hospital as it was difficult for them to get buses to reach their native places. Meanwhile, the roads in Hubballi-Dharwad appeared more crowded on Tuesday at various junctions, as in addition to maxi cabs and auto rickshaws, several multi-utility vehicles were seen ferrying passengers to different destinations. There was relief for those commuting between Hubballi and Dharwad as the Bendre Transport Service (BTS) continued unaffected. Protest As prohibitory orders were in place around the bus stations in the twin cities, the members of the joint committee of the transport employees chose to stage a protest in front of Sangolli Rayanna Statue at Brindavan Circle on Tuesday. Addressing the protestors the office-bearers of different trade unions R.F. Kavalikai, M.V. Kalabhavi, Subhash Singh Jamadar and others strongly condemned the government’s reluctance to engage in a dialogue with them and also its apathy towards the demands of the workers. ‘Not afraid’ Mr. Kavalikai and Mr. Jamadar said that the workers were not afraid of the coercive methods being employed by the government to created a rift among the protesting employees. “Unless the government accedes our rightful demands including the pay hike, the workers will continue the strike,” they announced. They also appealed to the workers not to pay heed to the rumours being spread to weaken the workers’ protest and stay united to pressure the government to meet their demands. Thehindu