HRY ROADWAYS STRIKE EXTENDED BY 3 DAYS
CM urges neighbouring states to step up bus frequency, Sarvkarmchari Sangh threatens to go on mass leave on Oct 26
CHANDIGARH: As the Haryana Roadways employees’ union on Monday extended their ongoing strike for three more days, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar wrote to neighbouring states to increase the frequency of their buses in the state.
Media adviser to chief minister Rajiv Jain said Khattar has asked the neighbouring states of Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand to increase the frequency of their buses plying in the state. “They have also been requested to run more buses, if possible,” he added.
Meanwhile, Khattar told mediapersons that the government was firm in its stand to rope in 700 private buses. “If the roadways employees union have any other issue to discuss with the government, its doors are open for them,” he said.
On the impact of the strike, which entered the seventh consecutive day, on the bus services across the state, additional chief secretary (ACS-transport) Dhanpat Singh said around 2,000 buses, including 800 roadways buses and over 1,000 buses of cooperative societies, plied across the state on Monday, as against the daily average of around 4,100 buses.
5 DISTRICTS BADLY HIT, BESIDES CHANDIGARH
“However, bus services were hit in at least five districts of Haryana and Chandigarh. Only eight buses ran against a daily average of 87 buses in Hisar, three against an average of 43 in Fatehabad, 12 against 170 in Rohtak, eight against 120 in Kaithal, 11 against 80 in Nuh and 12 against 80 in Chandigarh,” he said.
42 ON-PROBATION DRIVERS FIRED
He said the services of 42 driverswho were on probation were terminated on Monday.
“They are besides the 200 employees working through outsourced agencies who were terminated earlier,” he said.
The ACS said around 170 drivers appointed a few days ago would join work on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the roadways employees’ union also stuck to its demand for withdrawal of notification providing for allotment of contracts to 700 private buses and cases against roadways employees.
They said that since the government has not accepted these demands, they have further extended their strike for three days.
POWER CORPORATION UNION OBSERVES TWO-HOUR STRIKE
Meanwhile, members of All Haryana Power Corporations Workers’ Union observed a two-hour strike in all districts of the state and submitted memorandums expressing solidarity with the demands of roadways employees.
The union would also hold demonstrations across Haryana on October 25, union president Suresh Rathi and general secretary Naresh Kumar said.
SARVKARMCHARI SANGH ULTIMATUM
Meanwhile, Haryana Sarvkarmchari Sangh, an umbrella body of over 40 unions of government employees, also extended their support to the striking roadways employees and gave an ultimatum to the government till October 25.
Sangh leaders said they will hold meetings at the district level in solidarity with the roadways employees on October 24 and start a chain hunger strike on October 25.
If the government will not accept the roadways employees’ demand till then, the employees would go on mass causal leave on October 26, they threatened and added that they will decide their next course of action on October 27.