CHENNAI: Buses are back on the road in Tamil Nadu after an 8-day-long strike staged by drivers and other crew members for higher wages and arrears. With the end of the strike, the Pongal rush started. The state celebrates the harvest festival from Monday.

The strike was called off on Thursday night after the Madras high court passed an interim order referring the wage dispute between the state government and the workers of state-owned transport corporations to arbitration.

A former judge of the high court, Justice E. Padmanabhan, was named the arbitrator.

The unions, which asserted that they are returning to work primarily because of Pongal, made it clear that they have accepted the government’s offer of 2.44 multiplication factor in hike of wages.

CITU leader A. Soundarrajan announced that the indefinite strike was being “temporarily” called off, shortly after the High Court order on Thursday night. “The strike is being temporarily withdrawn keeping in mind the welfare of the people of the state,” he said.

Commuters were filling up buses at all Chennai terminals on Friday evening, as a second Saturday holiday also comes ahead of the Pongal holidays. Thousands from the city travel to their native places for the festival. The government has declared a holiday for private establishments also in Chennai, Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur districts. Schools and colleges are already closed. Railway stations and bus stands were packed.

Bus unions said they have restored traffic entirely in consideration of the festival. “All passengers who came to depots in the city were ferried to their destinations. Even outstation buses have been plying from Anna Nagar, Koyambedu, Saidapet and Tambaram.” “We all have re-joined work. However, some had to return due to shortage of buses. Drivers who report for AM and PM shifts arrived for work. The vehicles have not been serviced in a week, so we had to get mechanics to service it.”

The strike was withdrawn at 10.30pm on Thursday night. “It is Pongal, we don’t want the public to hate us. We know that many have not even made festival purchases because of lack of buses.” Workers of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC), owing allegiance to 17 trade unions, including those affiliated to the DMK and Left parties, had launched the strike on Jan.4 following failure of talks with the government on wage revision.