Hundreds of commuters in the district were affected when employees of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) went on a flash strike on Tuesday morning in protest against assigning Kudumbashree volunteers to manage reservation counters at the bus station.
No untoward incidents were reported from Kozhikode, while minor clashes occurred elsewhere in the State including Thiruvananthapuram. Employees belonging to different trade unions also staged a demonstration at the bus depot on Mavoor Road.
The protest caught the passengers unawares as KSRTC bus services to interiors of the district as well as Wayanad, Kannur, Kasaragod and other schedules plying to the southern parts of the State were cancelled abruptly at around 8 a.m.
Most passengers, particularly office-goers, were stranded at bus stations for a long time until the strike was called off. Many relied on private buses while others waited for the outcome of the conciliatory talks between the employees coordination committee and the KSRTC authorities in Thiruvananthapuram.
Handing over the 39 reservation counters of the KSRTC in the State to the Kudumbashree Mission was part of revamping the financially-depressed State-owned agency.