Trade unions' strike hits commuters hard

Passengers stranded as buses, autorickshaws, taxis stay off city roads

 The dawn-to-dusk nation-wide strike called by various trade unions against the ‘anti-people’ policies of the Union Government evoked a mixed response in Bengaluru.

Normal life was affected as the KSRTC, BMTC buses, taxis including app-based cabs Ola and Uber and autorikshaws remained off the road. Thousands of passengers who arrived in the city by trains, KSRTC and private buses were stranded at various railway stations and bus terminals including Kempegowda bus station and the City railway station.

The BMTC operated just 40 buses during the strike hours. It was a challenge for many to reach their workplaces in the absence of private transport. Taking advantage of the situation, some autorickshaw drivers fleeced passengers to make a quick buck. Meera, an HR executive, said she commutes daily from Hebbal to Marathahalli for Rs 30 in a private cab but today she was asked to pay Rs 300 by an autorickshaw driver.

Except for four high-end buses which left for Tirupati on the day, outbound buses of KSRTC, NEKRTC and NWKRTC did not operate till evening. Normal operations resumed after 6 pm. Those who had booked advance tickets in state transport corporation buses were forced to postponed their journey. A Bengalurean, Yogesh, said he had booked his ticket to Mangaluru by a KSRTC bus but could not travel as the buses were off the road. He was promised reimbursement by the KSRTC.

Passengers travelling to and from the airport suffered the most. BMTC’s Volvo buses started plying at around 3 pm.

Though Namma Metro functioned as usual, the ridership was down by almost half till 6 pm. “A little more than 70,000 people travelled on the Metro, while the number was over 1.1 lakh last Friday. Ridership increased towards evening,” BMRCL Chief Public Relation Officer U A Vasanth Rao said.

Thin attendance
Hotels, cinemas and business establishments functioned normally. Public sector banks, insurance companies and public sector undertakings were shut while the state government offices recorded thin attendance.

The corridors of Vidhana Soudha and Vikasa Soudha wore a deserted look as a large number of Secretariat employees chose to go on unauthorised leave supporting the strike. Most offices in the Secretariat and MS Building saw skeletal staff on duty.
The employees also wanted to make the most of the long weekend that stretches onto Tuesday.

Though Saturday is not a holiday, a majority of the employees did not mind availing of another day’s leave, officials said.

Meanwhile, trade unions held protests at the Town Hall and Laggere against the Central government policies. “The strike was totally peaceful. There was not even a stray incident of violence.

“About 5,000 people had gathered for the protest. The police had made elaborate security arrangements to ensure law and order,” said N S Megharik, City Police Commissioner.