Nearly 400 Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) drivers and conductors were stranded and forced to wait for accommodation in Mumbai for almost 12 hours on November 22.
According to Sanjay Surve, MSRTC division controller this delay was a result of confusion between various departments. According to sources, the sanitisation routine of the hotels was not finished. It was only around 8 pm that the staff was accommodated in hotels in Sakinaka and Kurla.
Around 1,000 buses have been given on lease to BEST by MSRTC and therefore, every week, 2,000 drivers and conductors each are called from various districts to operate these services.
According to reports, MSRTC has been facing a huge loss due to the ongoing pandemic and it is trying to raise money through external sources. Also, considering the situation, the MSRTC had decided not to impose a temporary hike in bus fares in November as even after resuming the bus services from June, the number of passengers and revenue has not increased.
The MSRTC provides accommodation to all its workers, however, on Sunday (November 22) the drivers and conductors who arrived in the city at 7:30 am were left in the lurch.
As reported in October, about one lakh MSRTC workers had not been paid their salaries for the month of August and September. Hence, the employee unions had decided to stage agitation in front of their houses on November 9 with their families, just a few days before Diwali. However, the government later assured that all the pending dues for the worker will be cleared by Diwali.
Read more: MSRTC employees to hold a strike, demand their pending salaries be paid
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