Pune: The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) workers went on strike over salary-related demands, severely affecting the Pune division, with around 450 out of 900 buses not operating. Bus operations in depots such as Shivajinagar, Vallabhnagar, Bhor, Saswad, and Baramati have been disrupted.
Pramod Nehul, the divisional controller for the Pune division, said, "While partial bus operations are continuing from Shivajinagar with buses from private contractors, operations in many other depots have been halted. This has caused significant trouble for passengers, leading many to rush to depots such as Swargate and Pune Station, resulting in crowding and chaos," as quoted by TOI.
Abhijit Bhosle, the public relations officer for the MSRTC, mentioned that around 35 depots across the state were completely closed out of a total of 251 depots. He also stated that the remaining depots are fully or partially operational. He added, "Traffic is running smoothly in all depots in the Mumbai division. However, the Kalyan and Vitthalwadi depots in the Kalyan division are completely closed at the moment," as quoted by TOI.
According to officials, traffic in all depots in Vidarbha is running smoothly, and the bandh has not significantly affected operations. However, most depots in the Latur and Nanded divisions of Marathwada are closed. Bhosle mentioned that in western Maharashtra, traffic in the Kolhapur and Solapur divisions is running smoothly. "Depots in Pune district—Shivajinagar, Vallabhnagar, Bhor, Saswad, Baramati, and Talegaon—are completely closed. In Sangli district, and the depots in Karad, Vaduj, and Mahabaleshwar in Satara district are also completely closed at the moment," he added.
The TOI report added that in Khandesh, the Nashik, Pimpalgaon, and Peth depots in Nashik district, as well as the Bhusawal and Chalisgaon depots in Jalgaon district, are completely closed. Traffic is running smoothly in other areas. Around 11 trade unions have launched the strike, demanding an equal pay scale comparable to state government employees and other benefits.