Ludhiana: Thousands of commuters across Punjab were left scrambling for transport Thursday as an indefinite strike by contract workers of Punjab Roadways, PUNBUS and PRTC disrupted govt bus services, triggering long waits and overcrowding at bus stands.The agitation, launched simultaneously across depots in the state, saw workers staging protests outside depot gates and bringing a large number of govt buses off the roads. The impact was immediately visible at Ludhiana bus stand, where passengers waited for hours as services thinned out.Women passengers were among the worst affected. Many chose to wait for govt buses because of the state’s free travel scheme for women, despite uncertainty over arrivals and reduced frequency of services.Parminder Kaur, headed to Amritsar, said she had been waiting for a long time for a bus, while another commuter, Kiran, said she had not carried enough money to travel by a private bus and had little option but to wait. Daljit Kaur, travelling to Rajpura, said the shortage of govt buses had caused considerable inconvenience.Union leaders accused the state govt of failing to address long-pending demands, including regularisation of contractual employees and strengthening of the state-run transport fleet. Protesters alleged that instead of expanding public transport, the govt was promoting kilometre-scheme buses and contract-based employment, which they claimed was fuelling privatisation and job insecurity.At the Ludhiana depot, workers said many contractual employees had completed more than a decade in service but were still awaiting regularisation and service benefits. They also raised concerns over delays in implementing provisions relating to outsourced employees and demanded withdrawal of cases registered against workers during earlier agitations.The union claimed it had held more than 70 meetings with the govt over the years without reaching a resolution. Frustrated by the lack of progress, workers have now escalated their protest into an indefinite strike.WHY TRANSPORT STAFF ARE ON STRIKERegularisation of long-serving contractual employeesRecruitment of more staff and addition of new government busesImplementation of benefits promised to outsourced workersWithdrawal of cases registered against protesting employeesOpposition to kilometre-scheme buses and contractual hiringDemand for a stronger state-run public transport systemBLURBLong queues, delayed journeys and fewer government buses marked the first day of the indefinite transport strike. With many women opting to wait for free government bus services instead of shifting to private operators, the disruption was felt across major routes from Ludhiana throughout the day
