ST suffers loss worth over INR 25 crore due to the strike

The protest staged by the MSRTC employees, which started on October 28, 2021, demanding an increase in allowance and merger of State Transport (ST) Corporation with the state government, has cost the corporation INR 25.33 crore in seven days. While the revenue has already declined due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the corporation, due to this protest ahead of Diwali, has suffered a major financial loss, state the experts.

It is being said that the strike was held at across 35 depots in the state and continued demanding merger of the corporation with the state government. Depots in Nanded, Bhandara, Amravati, Wardha, Yavatmal, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli and a few other divisions remained closed, disrupting the services

Though the ST services have not started completely in several areas due to the strike, the corporation has tried to maintain long-distance and local traffic from the nearby depots. The biggest impact has been on the local bus services, due to which, the locals who rely on private transport in this localities had to choose alternative modes of commute. As a result, the income of the corporation also saw a decline

The unannounced strike began on October 28, 2021, when the ST workers' union's action committee decided to go on an indefinite fast asking for a hike in their allowance among other demands. As a result, several rounds of ST had to be canceled and revenue sank. Workers across some depots in the state went on strike again from October 29, 2021, further demanding the merger of ST Corporation which added a further decline in the income generated.

Data released by the officials state that the strike has cost the corporation INR 25.33 crore since October 28, 2021, and the highest loss was recorded in Nanded division with an income of INR 2.59 crore. At present, ST is earning an average income of INR 12.50 crore per day, while due to the strike, it is losing revenue of INR 3.5 crore per day.

On behalf of the 17 ST workers 'unions action committee, the workers' union recently met NCP president Sharad Pawar presenting the demands of the merger with the state government. Pawar assured ST workers union president Sandeep Shinde that the request will be discussed with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Praveen Darekar also called on Transport Minister Anil Parab for merger and other demands of the workers.