Passengers at ISBT Panchkula in Sector 5.
Commuters will continue to face inconvenience as Haryana Roadways drivers’ union on Monday decided to extend the ongoing strike by another four days till November 2. Though 67 roadways buses out of the 98 being operated from General Bus Stand, Sector 5, Panchkula, and Kalka bus stand were made operational, local commuters complained about the slow frequency of local route buses and demanded more on those routes. Three private buses along with 67 Haryana Roadways buses are also plying on various routes.
A senior Haryana Roadways officer, deputed at the Sector 5 bus stand, said, “We are running the buses on all the important routes in Haryana, Delhi and the neighbouring state of Punjab. But we are yet to start the buses on Himachal routes, which go to Shimla, Baijnath and Dharamshala. We have started buses on local routes, which are ferrying passengers from different sectors of Panchkula to Chandigarh but the frequency of local buses is less. We are in the process of operating more buses on local routes. We are running all important local buses, including bus number-90, bus number-83, bus number-82, and will increase the frequency of these buses.”
Rakesh Sharma of Sector 10 said, “These days, we have to catch a local bus for Chandigarh from the CTU bus stop in Sector 4. Buses on the local routes are running short.” Meanwhile, Kalka, Pinjore, Barwala, Raipur Rani, Morni and Naraingarh are the rural areas situated in the periphery of Panchkula and thousands of people from these places commute between Panchkula and Chandigarh everyday.
Sharvan Kumar Jangra, secretary of Haryana Sarv Karamchari Sangh and office-bearer of the Haryana Roadways drivers’ union, said, “We have extended the ongoing strike by four days. The government is playing with the lives of innocent people as most of the outsourced drivers are untrained. They are not capable of driving heavy vehicles like roadways buses.”
Ashok Kaushik, a manager at General Bus Stand-5, said, “We have outsourced drivers and conductors for driving and issuing tickets on these 70 buses. Most of the drivers, who were put on the job, have been selected for the posts of drivers in Haryana Roadways through Staff Selection Commission (SSC) in exams but their names are yet to be released. Conductors were hired on the basis of their qualifications and a first aid medical treatment course, which is necessary for the conductors.”