Passengers at the receiving end as contractual employees of Punjab Roadways, Pepsu Road Transport Corporation protesting Kilometre Scheme went on strike on Friday.
Ten persons, including the general secretary of the Punjab Roadways and the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) workers union, were booked after a contractual employees’ protest against the Kilometre Scheme turned violent in Sangrur on Friday, leaving Dhuri station house officer (SHO) Jasvir Singh injured. At least 25 agitators were rounded up after the clash.
The PRTC and Punjab Roadways contractual employees had announced a statewide protest against the opening of tenders under the scheme, which they claim would threaten their jobs and pave the way for privatisation. Passengers, meanwhile, were on the receiving end as the buses remained off road.
The situation at the Sangrur bus stand turned tense when some PRTC employees, who had climbed atop parked buses, splashed petrol on police personnel when they attempted to bring them down.
Civil hospital senior medical officer Karamjit Singh said the SHO has suffered 15% burn injuries on the face, hands and back. “Although the injuries are not dangerous or life threatening, we consider these as serious, as we keep such patients separate from other patients to avoid infection,” said Dr Singh.
Following this, Sangrur police registered a first information report against 10 protestors, including Punbus and PRTC contract workers union general secretary, union vice-president
A scuffle also broke out in Patiala when Punjab Police forcibly tried to clear the protest site and restore services at the bus stand. The police had to use mild force to detain the agitators. During the clash, clothes were torn and turbans were tossed in the air.
Ahead of the protest, PRTC employees alleged that several of their leaders were detained by Punjab Police in an attempt to scuttle the agitation.According to Punjab Roadways officials, a tender for nearly 200 HVAC (heating, ventilating, and air conditioning) buses under the Kilometre Scheme was to be opened on Friday. The process has been delayed due to repeated protests by employees.
The strike by the Punjab Roadways, Punbus and PRTC Contract Workers’ Union brought bus services to a standstill across Punjab. With government buses off the roads, commuters were forced to depend on private transport.In the evening, the union announced their decision to continue their strike for an indefinite period following the police action on Friday. The decision is likely to cause inconvenience to the commuters across the state in the coming days as over 2,500 state transport buses would stay off roads.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/punjab-roadways-prtc-staff-protest-turns-violent-dhuri-sho-suffers-burns-101764320373013.html