City bus services come to a halt over conductors strike

Bhubaneswar: At least 50,000 commuters faced problems on Monday, with city bus (Ama Bus) services being affected along 30 routes as 125 buses remained off the road from 6 am to 4 pm due to a protest by ticket conductors.

The bus services resumed gradually after 4 pm after Crut asked the private agency to process the disbursement of salaries of the conductors. The conductors, who work through an outsourced agency, alleged they haven’t received their salaries for the last month. The officials of Capital Region Urban Transport (Crut), which operates the bus service, and police initially failed to persuade the agitators.

“The buses remained stranded at the Patrapada depot after the conductors refused to get into the buses and they staged a dharna at the depot. Crut formed a three-member committee to speak to the agitators but till 3.30 pm, they were adamant,” said Crut manager (operations) Jayant Kumar.

The 125 buses allotted to 30 routes connect important destinations within the city and outside. The most important route was from SUM Hospital to SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack. The suspension of service along this route put relatives of many patients in trouble. “To shuttle between Bhubaneswar and Cuttack along a fixed route is very convenient. But it was a surprise for me to discover that the bus was not plying on the route. I had come to see one of my relatives in SUM Hospital and was to return to Cuttack by bus. Having failed to do so, I rushed to Baramunda bus station in an autorickshaw and took a long-distance passenger bus that passes through Cuttack,” said Abhilash Mohanty, a commuter.

Another important route on which not a single Ama Bus was plying was from Kalinga Vihar to the railway station at Master Canteen. This bus sees rush throughout the day. Many, who depend on autorickshaws to come to the railway station, avail Ama Bus, whose fare is considerably less, sources said.

Crut claimed that the private agency that engages the conductors has been asked not to repeat the goof-up in future. “The grievances of the bus staff have been taken seriously. The committee that was formed will submit a report soon regarding the incident,” Kumar added.