Patiala/Hoshiarpur, Nov 29 (PTI) A day after several contractual employees of state-owned bus services in Punjab were detained during protests against the opening of tenders related to the kilometre-based bus scheme, protestors in Ludhiana condemned the police action.
Senior Vice President of the PUNBUS Contract Workers Union in Hoshiarpur, Sandeep Singh, alleged that four of their leaders – state committee member Kulwant Singh, district president Raminder Singh, secretary Narinder Singh and cashier Dharminder Singh – were still detained.
"Until they are released, the kilometre-scheme tenders are cancelled, and contractual workers are regularised, our dharna and strike will continue," he said.
"In the last four years, the government has not provided even a single new bus to Punjab Roadways. Over 500 old buses have gone off the road, and those still running face major repair issues. The department does not have funds even for tyres and essential repairs," he claimed.
Bus services in parts of the state remained affected on Saturday as employees of the Punjab Roadways, Punjab State Bus Stand Management Company Limited (PUNBUS) and Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) continued their protest for the second day.
The employees launched the strike on Friday against the opening of tenders related to the kilometre-based bus scheme, which they claimed was "a backdoor attempt to bring in private buses and dismantle the state-run transport system, enabling private operators to run buses on government-notified routes".
Ahead of their protest, many union leaders were detained by police, after which chaos unfolded across various locations in Punjab as the protesting workers clashed with the police.
In Sangrur, the protest turned violent when some employees, who climbed atop buses, splashed petrol on police personnel who were attempting to take them down.
The Dhuri Station House Officer suffered burn injuries after his uniform caught fire. A video of the incident has been circulated widely on social media.
Protesters said many of their leaders were detained by police and condemned the police action. A protester in Ludhiana on Saturday strongly condemned the police action against protesting employees.
"The government should accept our demand and release employees who have been detained," he demanded.
The union leaders and contractual workers allege that the policy favours private contractors and will jeopardise thousands of livelihoods in the state transport sector.
Farmers' body Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee leader Sarwan Singh Pandher came out in support of the protest by the contractual employees of the state-owned bus services, criticising the state government over the scheme.
Meanwhile, commuters were at the receiving end as the protests led to disruption in bus services.
With government buses staying off the roads, passengers were forced to rely on private operators. Women commuters, who normally avail free travel in state-run buses, said they were compelled to purchase tickets in private buses in the absence of government services.
This report includes content sourced from Press Trust of India (PTI), edited for clarity and context.
