Strike: Public transport services hit in Punjab, Haryana

Public transport services in Punjab and Haryana turned out to be the main casualty of the day-long nationwide strike of central trade unions, protesting against the proposed changes in labour laws.
Passengers, especially in Haryana, had a harrowing time as majority of state-owned buses remained off road at several places following the decision of Haryana Roadways Employees' Union to join the nationwide protest.
Reports pouring from several places said that private bus operators and taxis took hapless passengers for a ride by "overcharging" them.
The major impact of strike was visible on public transport services in Haryana where employees under the Haryana Roadways Employees' Union banner refused to allow plying of buses in protest against privatization in roadways sector.

Out of Haryana Roadways' total fleet size of 4,200, only 800-900 buses could ply in the state, said an official of the Haryana Transport department.
"State-run bus service in places like Nuh, Palwal, Faridabad, Sirsa of Haryana were completely paralysed because of the strike," the official said, adding that there was no report of any untoward incident.

Despite Haryana Roadways taking several measures including parking buses in police lines to facilitate plying, striking employees did not allow to them on the road at various places.
However, officials maintained that bus services were normal in some areas including Kaithal, Amabala, Panipat.

"There was a complete Chakka Jaam in Haryana as we did not allow buses to operate," said Sarbat Punia, representative of Haryana Roadways Employees' Union.
A report from Hisar said hundreds of passengers were stranded in Hisar, Hansi, Uklana, Barwala, Adampur and other bus stands.
In Punjab, the impact of strike was seen on 20-25 per cent of total state transport buses for few hours.
"Protesting employees started their protest at 11 am and ended it at 2 pm at bus depots," said an official of Punjab Roadways department.
In Punjab, the fleet size of state-owned roadways, including PRTC, is about 2,800.

In Chandigarh also, protesting employees of Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) held a symbolic protest from 10 am to 12 noon.
The disruption in movement of buses was just for 2-3 hours, said a CTU official.
Banking services, including clearing houses, were also hit as employees of public sector banks, except SBI, went on strike.
However, electricity supply remained normal in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, though a large number of employees of electricity departments participated in the strike.
There was no impact of the strike on industrial production in Ludhiana as industry representatives said labourers joined their duties in majority of industry verticals.