CHENNAI: On day one of the nation-wide strike by trade unions, around 90% of the buses of Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) in Chennai remained off road. Across Tamil Nadu, only 32% of the buses could be operated as employees abstained from work despite threats from the government to cut their salaries.
According to official data, of the scheduled 3,175 buses in Chennai, only 318 could be operated. Across the state, only 5,000 of the scheduled 15,335 buses were operated.
As a result, students and office-goers had to wait for more than one hour at bus stands.
People who arrived in Chennai from other districts of Tamil Nadu and from other states were stranded at Koyambedu omnibus stand and mofussil bus terminus in the morning.
Autorickshaws and taxis exploited this situation and demanded three times the usual fare from the public.
Suburban trains and metro rail services came to the rescue of some of them.
Transport employees staged protests at Pallavan Illam in Chennai and other places against the Union government’s policies. The protests affected traffic on arterial roads like the Anna Salai in Chennai.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/all-india-strike-public-transportation-affected-in-chennai-other-parts-of-tn-as-most-buses-remain-off-road/articleshow/90486915.cms
