ST bus strike catches govt on the wrong foot

PARLEYS TODAY | The strike led to a complete shutdown of operations at 59 out of MSRTC's 251 bus depots, severely impacting public transport ahead of Ganesh festival

- Kamal Mishra & Kalpesh Mhamunkar

The Maha Yuti govt helmed by chief minister Eknath Shinde is being buffeted by yet another crisis with employees of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) going on an indefinite strike on the eve of the Ganesh festival when lakhs of people go to their villages to perform poojas. In fact, the state transport buses constitute the lifeline of rural Maharashtra.

The controversy over the collapse of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj has hardly died down when the strike has upset the plans of a large number of Ganesh devotees. Instead of proactively engaging the union leaders, the government left them with no option but give a call for strike. Shinde has now called for a meeting with the strike leaders on Wednesday evening. The employees' demands include increase in dearness allowance and salaries on par with that drawn by state government staffers.

"A positive solution will come out in tomorrow's meeting. In the past, we have resolved various issues through negotiations." Quick to cash in on the crisis, Opposition leader in the state assembly, Vijay Wadettivar of the Congress said "The State government should not overwhelm countryside people and resolve the issue as soon as possible."

The strike has come a day after MSRTC announced that thousands of its buses had been fully booked by devotees for Ganpati festival,