PUNE: Close to 50% of the staff in the Pune division of the strike-hit Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) have rejoined work. Services are expected to be back to normal from April 23 onwards.
“Out of around 4,500 protesting workers, 2,000 of them have resumed their duties. With the Bombay high court (HC) directing the workers to rejoin their duties from April 22 onwards, we are positive that the strike will finally end by then,” a senior official of the Pune division told TOI.
“At present, of the total 800 buses in Pune division, around 380 have begun operations. Each day, around 1,400 trips are being made. More than 50% of the routes in both rural and urban areas have resumed activity. We expect more routes to start. In the next four to five days, we are expecting all workers to rejoin. Buses to most places from Pune have started. The frequency is being increased slowly,” another official said.
“We have already assured the workers that all the suspensions that took place during these months of the strike will be revoked, and that they shouldn’t fear anything and join work. All the striking employees are getting no salaries right now. We are perhaps the only transport body that has not recovered since the pandemic,” the state transport official said.
Officials said that once the strike has ended, their plan is to increase the number of routes by adding new destinations. “Considering the losses faced, more revenue is the only way out. The procurement of e-buses has been put on the fast track . Transport of items, started in the pandemic, is also one way to go,” the official said.
