KOCHI: The dismissal of empanelled staff from the KSRTC has led to obstruction and disarray in services across the state and Ernakulam, where 96 staff were sacked, faced a huge crisis on Tuesday.
While Sabarimala services went without a hitch, the local ‘Thirukochi’ services and inter-district buses starting from Ernakulam were badly hit.
The Ernakulam stand which has 137 services till 8 pm, saw 62 of them cancelled due to unavailability of staff.
“All the drivers had come for the duty, but in the morning itself, 36 drivers left due to the unavailability of conductors. We had been assigning the available staff to the crucial services and doing a balancing act,” said Sandheep, station master.
Out of the total 35 Thirukochi services, only 12 went on the road on Tuesday. A driver said, “This was a huge blow. For the coming days, until the hiring takes place, things are going to be hectic. The passengers on my bus had been waiting a couple of hours.”
In some depots, adjustments were made with the depots that have more staff. “We were severely hit with over 45 staff gone. We roped in help from the Pandalam depot by reaching a working arrangement,” said a driver who was operating one of the few services from Kollam. Pandalam had lost only 14 staff.
“For the coming days we are carefully slotting the services so sufficient buses are available on all routes. This was unprecedented and we are pulling out all the stops to prevent a severe crisis and trouble to passengers,” said Anthony, KSRTC official.
Meanwhile, the disappointment and misery of the dismissed staff linger on the premises of the bus station, with some of the former staff still milling around.
Even the current staff are wary and disturbed as they speak about the sudden dismantling of the teams they were working in.