Chief Judicial Magistrate Anubhav Sharma (CJM) on Wednesday ordered that the dharna proposed to be staged by the Haryana Roadways employees on April 30 should not be allowed inside or around 200 m radius of the Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBTs) of sectors 17 and 43 and their workshop in Industrial Area. The court has also ordered that workers, while protesting, should not cause any hindrance to the general public. The orders came on a suit for permanent injunction filed by the General Manager, Haryana Roadways, Pardhuman Singh, stating that “plaintiff, travellers and general public would have to suffer heavily and irreparably” during the proposed strike. His application also stated that the strike would cause “a great loss to the state exchequer”. The order reads, “in light of the urgency shown and the matter in dispute, defendants (the committee) shall not interfere in the functioning of the plaintiff roadways by creating hindrance by way of strike, dharnas, etc inside the premises of the plaintiff and periphery of 200 m from the outer boundary wall of the plaintiff and their other workshops in Chandigarh”. [related-post] The GM, Haryana, will also have to submit a report about the same before the next date of hearing on May 4. The Haryana Roadways Karamchari Talmel Committee had issued a notice to the authorities to hold a protest against the Road Transport and Safety Bill of 2014 which was proposed by the central government. Steered by the All-India Road Transport Workers’ Federation (AITWF), the protesters state that the formation of a National Transport Authority (NTA) as the supreme body is against the interests of the government transport workers. The bill has, in a way, supported privatisation of public transport, claim the protesters. The protesters will also be opposing the fine proposed to be levied on the drivers in case of an accident, which will be between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 5 lakh for causing death and a jail term of four to seven years.
