Despite high court directives, strikes and protests by MSRTC staffers and unions continue, bus services across the state remained affected
The employees of the MSRTC on a strike at Swargate bus depot in Pune on Sunday. Pic/Himanshu Mukerjee
Despite court restrictions, Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) staffers from various politicised trade unions tried to shut bus depots on Sunday, affecting bus operations. At the time of going to the press, around 119 of the total 250 depots across were shut and the figure may change as they open or remain shut. A number of bus depots in Mumbai and Thane, too, were intermittently closed.
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“Strikes are continuing despite government assurances. The main demand is merger of the corporation with the state government so that salaries are streamlined, and payments are regularised,” a senior MSRTC official said.
A section of MSRTC employees has been on an unannounced strike since October 28, seeking merger of the cash-strapped corporation with the state government. Bus operations across the state were affected during the festive season due to the protests and strikes.
On Sunday, Sangharsh ST Kamgar Union MSRTC claimed that 37 MSRTC employees committed suicide so far, and issued a warning notice to the government. “There should be no more committees formed to look into the issue of merger of MSRTC with the government, but a straight merger should be announced, or the depot closures will continue,” said Shashank Sharad Rao, union coordinator.
Observers and supporters said the strike was making MSRTC irrelevant in the eyes of the public. “During last week’s closure of depots during peak festive season, bus depots and helplines did not get any calls from commuters. This means that the public is not bothered anymore. During the lockdown and closures, people have found alternatives and developed their own modes of commute. In addition to this, there were multiple private buses, taxis, shared autos and what not. By cutting down services and shutting down depots, MSRTC is making themselves irrelevant, and it will go down like the textile mills of Mumbai if issues are not solved quickly,” a long-time MSRTC associate said.
The MSRTC is one of the biggest state transport corporations in the county with a fleet of more than 18,000 buses and around 96,000 employees, including drivers and conductors.
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