Busiest bus terminus lies deserted

The CMBT — which witnesses lakhs of passengers daily with many MTC and mofussil buses — hardly had a footfall of a few hundred passengers. While five to 10 MTC buses would appear once in two hours, government mofussil buses did not ply at all. To help the stranded passengers, transport officials hired a few private buses for long-distance travels.

“There were a lot of people who were stranded on Thursday night, as they were unaware of strike and spent a sleepless night. But on Friday, the numbers decreased as most of the commuters left to take trains,” said a vendor in the CMBT. He added that operators of Omni buses entered CMBT, urging the commuters to use their services.

Meanwhile, transport officials hired drivers and conductors, and let them use their vehicles to help stranded citizens. A press release issued by MTC on Friday stated, “Considering that transport workers from various unions have gone on strike, people having heavy duty and conductor licenses can approach nearby branch managers of bus depots for operating MTC buses.” This was, however, vehemently opposed by transport union leaders.

At a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami with his senior cabinet members, a note to revise the wage revision agreement every three years by multiplying the basic pay by a factor of 2.35 times was discussed, claimed sources. He added that a further enhancement was proposed to revise the basic pay every four years by multiplying it by a factor of 2.44 times.

The agreement also provides for a rise of 3 per cent for those who were regularised between September 2013 and August 2016 as a special case since they were not covered in 2013 revision. Despite the severe financial crunch, the department had paid dues of Rs 1,400 crore to retired employees, Rs 292 crore to staff on roll, and Rs 485 crore towards accident relief, amounting to Rs 2,177 crore in the current financial year, claimed sources.

After a consultation meeting with Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, Transport Minister MR Vijayabaskar urged the workers on strike to return to work or face legal action. He also criticised union leaders and members for continuing the strike even when talks were underway.

“We have to pay only around Rs 5 crore to clear arrears, but the union leaders say that the arrears run up to Rs 7 crore,” he said. The minister also said that “employees will soon report to the duty and operation of special buses for Pongal festivals will not be affected.”

When asked about temporary bus drivers and conductors, Vijayabhaskar said, “We have instructed the branch managers to verify the documents such as their license and check their expertise. There is no alternative to tackle the current situation. Our main aim is that public should not be affected at any cost.”

Passenger traffic in Chennai railway division rose by over 30 per cent owing to the flash strike resorted to by transport workers on Thursday. Around 16 lakh people on Thursday took trains, mostly EMUs in Chennai division, against the average daily total passenger traffic of 11-12 lakh. The number could go up if the strike continues.

Chennai metro rail (CMRL) has recorded a considerable rise in passenger traffic due to transport strike. It witnessed a 30 per cent jump in commuter numbers. While the average passenger traffic of CMRL peaks to 28,000 during festivals, a little over 20,000 people have travelled by the metro till 6pm on Friday.

Omni bus operators hiked their fare by Rs 200 to Rs 300 owing to the strike. “Usually, omni buses charge more than government ones and the strike gave them the opportunity to charge even more than their usual rates,” said A Kamalanathan, who went to Coimbatore from Chennai on Friday night. The normal fare in non-A/C semi-sleeper bus usually costs Rs 500 to 600, but it went up to Rs 700 to Rs 900.