Rs 25 lakh loss to Panipat depot

Tribune News Service

Panipat, April 12

Five roadways employees of the Panipat depot were suspended today for participating in the ongoing indefinite strike. Roadways union leaders and workers staged a dharna at the bus stand here and raised slogans against the government. Passengers faced inconvenience as all buses remained off road as part of the chakka jam.

Anoop Singh Sehrawat, state president, Haryana Roadways Workers Union (INTUC) and member of the Joint Action Committee, said, “The government is adamant and has suspended around 125 employees of 24 depots across the state. We will intensify our agitation. The government is responsible for the strike”.

“The Haryana Roadways is not in the red. The department pays Rs 85,000 as passenger tax for a 52-seat bus every month while it is only Rs 12,000 for private buses,” he added.

The employees were ready to give their two-month salary to the government for purchase of new buses for the Haryana Roadways, said Dilawar Singh, union leader.

Anita Rani, a commuter, said, “I have to go to Safidon in Jind but I did not get any vehicle for the last two hours”.

Mehtab Singh Kharab, General Manager, Panipat depot, said Ranbir Sharma, Jagdish, Shamsher Singh, Rajpal and Baljinder, who are leaders of various unions, had been suspended on the government’s direction.

“The Panipat depot has suffered a loss of around Rs 25 lakh due to the ongoing strike. The depot earns around Rs10 lakh per day while 122 of total 134 buses ply during normal days. We have been facing a shortage of buses. The depot’s fleet can have 160 buses but we have only 134 buses at present. We requires 26 more buses,” he said.