In Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh, the wheels of private buses on local routes have stopped today. The private bus driver-operator union is on a one-day strike due to non-acceptance of the demands from the state government and the transport department. In such a situation, passengers are facing problems since morning. Especially the employees and the students have suffered a lot. People reached their destination on foot. There was a rush of passengers for buses in different bus stands of the city. The number of HRTC buses is limited, but there is a huge rush in these too.
Around 120 private buses are on strike on local routes in the city. President of Private Bus Driver-Operator Union, Ruplal Thakur and General Secretary Akhil Gupta said that since one year the union has been raising its demands with the state government but the government is not serious. On July 11, the union had announced a symbolic strike, but after the assurance of RTO Shimla, the strike was postponed. Despite RTO’s assurance, no relief was received. On August 5, the union had given a memorandum and strike notice to DC Shimla regarding the demands, but did not take it seriously. Hurt by the callousness of the government and the administration, the union has decided to go on a one-day strike on August 16.
