Hundreds were stranded on Thursday as members of Government Transport Worker North Zone Joint Action Committee held a chakka jam at Sector 43 bus stand from 9 am to 1 pm demanding better incentives from the Punjab government. Transport unions of Chandigarh,Punjab and Himachal Pradesh took part in the token stir that affected bus services to Punjab,Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. Though outstation buses were allowed to enter the stand,no bus left from 9 am. On a normal day,three-four long route buses and two-three local buses leave the stand every few minutes. Chandigarh Transport Undertaking Union general secretary Rajkumar said the Punjab government had announced incentives to employees of other departments but had ignored the transport staff. The Punjab government has given special allowances to all employees except the roadways staff. We are paid a pittance for our uniforms. Earlier agitations had been held by the union. However,since we got no hearing,we decided to hold a chakka jam , he said. Rajkumar said the transport unions would go on an indefinite strike if their demands were not met. Many commuters,who had connecting buses to catch,were left stranded. Abhijit,who had to travel to Pathankot and then proceed to Himachal Pradesh,said he would not be able to catch the connecting bus from Pathankot as all the buses leave before 6 pm. This is sheer harassment. The authorities should have dealt with the problem on time rather than making such a situation arise, he said. Kewal Singh,a resident of Jammu,waited for a bus from 10 in the morning. I did not know about the strike and have been waiting for the buses to start plying. We have been told that services would resume by afternoon. There was no option but to wait. The strike is causing inconvenience to the passengers, he said. With water coolers at the bus stand not functioning,people were forced to buy bottles of drinking water at inflated prices. Anujit,a dentist who was waiting for a bus to Jalandhar,said people had no option but to wait at the bus stand. There is not even a proper place to sit. My friend and I have been standing for hours. Some alternative arrangements should have been made keeping in view the strike, she said. The autorickshaw drivers lined up outside the bus stand fleeced the passengers by charging exorbitant rates. The buses from the bus stand at Sector 17,however,continued to ply. The buses started plying after 1 pm from the Sector 43 stand.
