COIMBATORE: Seeking action against officers for allegedly transferring a bus driver with ulterior motives, TNSTC staff at Kotagiri deport in Ooty region boycotted work for over four hours on Monday morning. They alleged that the transfer had caused immense distress to the driver J Kannan, who died on duty on May 30.
Meanwhile, the boycott by TNSTC staff led to the non-operation of 55 buses from Kotagiri depot, causing severe hardship to thousands of passengers who were unable to reach destinations such as Coonoor, Ooty, Gudalur, Mettupalayam and Coimbatore.
According to TNSTC sources, Kannan, regularly operated the daily route from Kotagiri to Mysuru via Coonoor and Ooty. On April 23, Kannan arrived at the Ooty bus stand from Mysuru at 7.10 PM, and the timekeeper asked Kannan to operate a bus from Ooty to Coimbatore to handle the election crowd. He allegedly refused, stating that he could not do so because he was too tired.
Although the timekeeper and the assistant manager allegedly forced him to operate the vehicle, he still refused and a verbal argument ensued. Subsequently, Kannan was suspended by the branch manager on April 28, and was transferred to the Mettupalayam branch.
While the sequence of events allegedly left him depressed, Kannan joined duty on May 30 and was assigned the Mettupalayam-Madurai route. Tragically, he died on the same day after his bus collided with another bus in Dharapuram in Tiruppur district.
Condemning this ‘torture’ by the officers, TNSTC bus crew boycotted work on Monday morning. After TNSTC senior officials assured the bus crew that departmental action would be taken against the officers who transferred the driver, the employees resumed bus operations from the Kotagiri depot at 11 am.
When asked about it, a top officer from TNSTC, Coimbatore division, told TNIE that an inquiry is under way and necessary action would be taken against the officers.