KSTC buses will ply as usual after 6pm. Pic: Pavan Kulkarni

With Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation Staff and Workers’ Federation calling for a day-long strike opposing the provisions of the Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2015, KSRTC and BMTC buses will remain off road in Bengaluru on Thursday (April 30th).

Confirming the strike call to Citizen Matters, Staff and Workers’ Federation General Secretary H V Anantha Subba Rao said that the strike will last for 12 hours, from 6 am to 6 pm. “As many as 1,20,000 employees of Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) and North East Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NEKRTC), have supported the strike call given by the Federation. We have decided not to operate the buses in support of the nation-wide strike call given by 54 public road transport corporations across the country,” he said.

KSRTC buses will ply at night

Elaborating the reason for the strike call, he said the proposed Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2015, will ring death knell to the state transport undertakings. The Bill intends to privatise road transportation in India, which may pave way for inviting global tenders from private corporations. It will eventually liquidate the public transportation that has served the people for decades. Absence of level playing field will lead to the closure of state run road transport corporations, he feared.

That apart, he assured that the buses will ply as usual at night. “Over 42,000 seats have been pre-booked in KSRTC for Thursday night, and we do not want to disturb the public who have planned their week end in advance,” he said. However, general public are advised to leave their homes early to catch the buses, as traffic jams are likely to occur after the end of strike.

Due to the overload of bookings, KSRTC has arranged for extra night buses on the weekend, which will ply without any problem.

Meanwhile, the KSRTC management has issued a circular to the Federation requesting the staff work as usual, but the request has been outrightly rejected by the Federation.

Autorickshaws too will remain off road opposing the Bill, whereas taxis are likely to operate as the Bangalore Tourist Taxi Owner’s Association has not supported the strike call. Trains will ply as usual.

Various exams that were scheduled for April 30th, including Common Entrance Test (CET) have been postponed due to the strike. CET has been re-scheduled for May 12th and 13th.

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