Maharashtra: MSRTC employees' strike enters 34th day; over 1,500 buses operational

Mumbai: The strike by employees of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation continued for the 34th day on Tuesday and the transport undertaking operated over 1,500 buses out of its fleet of 16,000 vehicles, an official said. The agitation of employees, who are seeking merger of the cash-strapped corporation with the state government, has crippled the state-run bus services for a month now. “The MSRTC operated 1,086 buses, including 822 ordinary ones, on various routes from 50 depots till Monday evening. Another 506 buses operated early Tuesday. The final figure will be released by the evening,” a spokesperson of the MSRTC said. Till Monday, the corporation had suspended the services of 7,585 permanent employees and 1,779 daily wage workers, an official earlier said. The MSRTC has a fleet of 16,000 buses and over 92,000 employees. It used to ferry more than 65 lakh people per day before the COVID-19 outbreak in March last year hit operations severely. After the Diwali festival earlier this month, the MSRTC employees intensified their agitation, which had led to all 250 depots of the corporation to remain shut for some days. The stir continues despite the state government announcing a 41 per cent salary hike last week to break the impasse.