Passengers in Jalandhar faced severe inconvenience on Wednesday after contractual employees of the Punjab Roadways and Punbus joined a statewide strike, leading to widespread disruption of bus services from local depots here.
At the Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh Interstate Bus Terminal, commuters were seen waiting for long hours as these buses remained off roads. The disruption hit daily commuters, students, women travelling under the state’s free travel scheme and daily wagers the hardest, with many left stranded or forced to look for costly alternatives.
Ranjit Singh, union secretary at Punjab Roadways Depot-1, Jalandhar, said, “More than 160 Punjab Roadways and Punbus buses remained off the roads in Jalandhar. Bus services on local routes remained suspended, while buses operating on longer routes were asked to return to depots.”
Harpreet Kaur, a resident of Nakodar, said, “I have been waiting since long. Normally buses are frequent, but today there is no clarity.”
Another commuter Rajesh Kumar said the strike disrupted his work schedule. “I had to travel to Amritsar for an urgent work. Now, I am helpless to take a private bus which is costly and takes more time ,” he said.
The strike been called off Wednesday evening following the talks with Transport Secretary Varun Roojam.
