COIMBATORE: Distance often sours relationships. An unlikely representative of this assessment, generally used to surmise love affairs, is slowly building up at Ukkadam Bus Depot in the city, where employees and top management of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) are at loggerheads over a tricky affair of distance. While the management is adamant that the distance between the bus stand and Palakkad is 51 km, employees maintain that the figure stands at 53 km. The difference of two km has created so much bad blood that the employees are threatening to go on strike until the matter is satisfactorily settled.
While the small variation in distance might not seem much to a layman, in transport circles, it is the difference between having a clean image and getting hauled over the coals. The reason for the stand-off is made clear by V Ravi, a driver plying on the route. “How much verbal abuse can we actually take? We do not steal diesel but everyday we are asked to explain why diesel for extra two km was burnt. The management and we cannot arrive at a common ground over distance,” says V Ravi.
“A bus’ odometer shows 53 km distance between Coimbatore and Palakkad. Even Google indicated the distance as 53 km. However, the management believes that the distance between the two points is 51.25 km,” he says, adding that an impasse has been reached and a massive stir on April 5 would be organised to seek a solution.Throwing its lot with the drivers is Nethaji Transport Workers Welfare Federation, whose general secretary M Anburaj says, “The drivers are harassed by the management, which alleges that the drivers are giving low per km mileage per litre (KMPL). What they do not consider is that their figure is based on lesser distance.”
“We petitioned the Commissioner of Transport Department in vain. Left with no other option, we are planning a strike,” he said. Besides the mental torture the drivers undergo, Anburaj says that the discrepancy in calculating the actual distance is causing heavy loss to the coffers as well. “The TNSTC collects fare for only 51 km instead of the actual 53 km, leading to monetary loss,” he says. Speaking to Express, General Manager of Coimbatore Division T Govindharaj said, “The drivers are causing unnecessary trouble. The distance between the two points is only 51.25, not 53 km, as they claim. We have been following this for many years. The mistake is on the employees’ side. Perhaps they are riding extra distance instead of sticking to the prescribed route.”
When told that even Google indicated the distance to be 53 km, he said that it could be a wrong information. The Coimbatore Division operates 13 mofussil bus services to Palakkad. Everyday, a bus runs eight single services between the two stands. As per the employees, the total distance covered is 424 km per day, but the management takes into account 408 km. Given that the protest plan comes shortly after the wage revision agitation, facts suggest there is no love lost between the employees and the management and it’s one of the many issues that the two would spar on.