THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Rajendran and wife Mani had arrived in Thiruvananthapuram four days ago. Mani, a cancer patient, had a follow-up check-up and the couple took a hotel room after Rajendran took ill. After getting discharged and vacating their room on Friday, the duo got stranded in the bus stand, unaware of the strike being called by the unions of the state-run KSRTC.
The couple had to leave for Punalur. “We didn’t know about the strike. We have been here since morning. Not many private buses go to our place and right now, we are stranded with not enough money and no place to go,” says Mani. “We are just waiting,” she sighed.
The same was the plight of many who got stranded after the strike called by the various unions of KSRTC which left life crippled. But it was those who had arrived for their medical needs who were the most affected. The dearth of private buses plying to the outskirts affected commuters the most. Sasthamkotta native Sobhakumari T who had arrived with her four-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter Adrika for her medical treatment on Thursday was one such person.
Holding onto Adrika, who is blind and whose legs are paralysed, Sobhakumari was waiting at the KSRTC terminal in Thampanoor. “We came to know about the strike only after reaching here. We don’t have private buses going to Sasthamcotta and now we are thinking of going by train. It will be a long journey for us as the buses aren’t there but we are left with no choice. But I also understand why they have called for the strike. Every sector is facing a problem and everybody has to live,” says Sobhakumari.
Hundreds of commuters who arrived on trains were also left in the lurch as they couldn’t find connecting buses to their destinations. Amritha Balan who arrived from Chennai, came to know of the strike only when autorickshaw drivers started asking her whether she needed a ride. “I have to go to Balaramapuram and unlike Thrissur, my native place, there aren’t many private buses here. So when the KSRTC employees strike work, life gets affected. People like us can somehow manage but those who depend on buses on a daily basis have to bear the brunt,” said Amritha.
The police had measures in place to help out people in emergency situations. By afternoon, the police had ferried over 30 people who had emergencies. The police bus and jeep were used to transport the people who had to go to hospitals.
“People are left with no choice when a strike is called all of a sudden. The poor people and those with medical emergencies are the most affected. If it was announced earlier, people could have planned accordingly. This time also, we have arranged help for people who have emergency needs, such as hospital visits or those travelling to the airport. It was a humanitarian consideration and we are doing what we can,” says city police commissioner Balram Kumar Upadhyay.
With KSRTC buses not plying, traffic bottlenecks were witnessed in various parts of the city after people started venturing out in private vehicles. For instance, an hours-long block was seen on the stretch from Aralumoodu to Balaramapuram. The private mini travellers made a killing on the outskirts with the absence of KSRTC buses. Sreejith R, an advocate who arrived from Kaliyikkavila, had to shell out over `100 to reach East Fort. As he was waiting for a private bus to go to Kumarapuram where his house is being constructed, Sreejith said that the strike was untimely, especially when things were getting back to normal after Covid.
“We are all just getting back to our normal lives. The strike has affected normal life and many people are left stranded. We don’t have private buses in my place and there are many who have to come to the city for medical needs and they have to depend on these traveller operators who charge exorbitant sums. I don’t know how I will go back in the evening,” said Sreejith.
Plans for indefinite strike
The strike on Friday saw all major unions participating. “There has been no salary revision for the KSRTC employees while employees of other state-run sectors are getting it. The strike will affect the public but we are left with no choice as the government is not listening to our demands. It is just a token strike and if the demands aren’t met we will strike indefinitely from next month,” says S J Pradeep state secretary, Kerala State Transport Employees’ Union (KSTEU).