Student-bus crew scuffle ends in flash strike

KOCHI: It has been only a couple of days since the authorities organised ‘Bus Day’ with much fanfare. But the commuters in Pukkattupady-Edapally route had to taste the bitter lessons of public transport system when the private buses in the route went on a lightning strike on Friday.A scuffle between the students and the workers of a private bus had led to the sudden strike, police said.Earlier in the day, a student of the Bharat Mata College, Thrikkakara, got injured as a private bus took off suddenly before he boarded the bus. Around 5 pm the students allegedly beat up the workers of ‘Highness’ operating in the Pukkattupady route.It took no time for the private bus workers to call a strike in protest against the incident holding the commuters to ransom. Hundreds of commuters, including women and school children, had a tough time.Though the Motor Vehicles Department asked the bus owners to resume the services, the latter were not ready to give in. Ernakulam RTO P J Thomas warned the bus owners that their permits will be suspended if they did not resume the services immediately. But the bus operators were hesitant to call off the strike. Ever since the latest revision of bus fare, the bus workers had been very rude to students.