Maharashtra bus workers strike days before Ganpati festival

Mumbai: Just four days before the Ganpati festival, employees of Maharashtra’s state bus transport have initiated an unannounced strike. The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) reports that buses are not departing from 35 out of 250 depots across the state.
Whilst the impact is not visible on Mumbai roads, the strike’s effects are apparent in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and other cities and towns of Maharashtra. An action committee of trade unions called the strike, which began at 8 am on Tuesday, to address various demands.
An MSRTC spokesperson stated, “The bus service of the state-owned transport corporation has completely stopped at 35 of the 250 bus depots in Maharashtra due to the strike called by the action committee of 11 trade unions from midnight.”
The spokesperson added that whilst bus service remains unaffected in the Mumbai division, it has been partially disrupted in the neighbouring Thane division. “The bus depots at Kalyan and Vitthalwadi in Thane Division are completely shut. Barring these 35 bus depots, other depots are either fully or partially operational,” they said.
Ganpati is one of the most widely celebrated festivals in Maharashtra, particularly in the Konkan belt. MSRTC had planned to operate 5,000 extra Ganpati special buses between 3-7 September, departing from Mumbai, Thane and Palghar divisions. MSRTC officials acknowledged that if the strike is not called off promptly, passengers who have booked buses to travel to their native villages and towns for the festival will face difficulties.
The Maharashtra ST Kamgar Sanyukt Kruti Samiti called this strike ahead of the Ganpati festival, demanding a salary increase for MSRTC employees and addressing other issues after their negotiations with the state government failed last month. The action committee is demanding salaries on par with state government employees.
MSRTC officials reported that several bus depots in the districts of Pune, Satara, Sangli and Nashik have been severely affected, impacting bus and passenger movement. MSRTC is one of the largest public transport corporations in the country, with a fleet of approximately 15,000 buses and a workforce of 90,000. With more than 60 lakh passengers transported daily by these state transport buses, MSRTC buses are often referred to as the lifeline of Maharashtra.