CHANDIGARH: Contract workers of PRTC, Punjab Roadways and PUNBUS launched a state-wide strike early Friday morning in protest against the government’s kilometre scheme for bus operations. Major protests erupted across Punjab, particularly in Patiala, where the PRTC headquarters is located.
Union representatives alleged that several leaders from different districts, including Patiala, were detained in the early hours to prevent them from joining the ongoing demonstrations. Harkesh Vicky of Patiala, the state spokesperson of the union, said that government employees also extended support to the agitation against what he described as “government repression”.
Tension escalated when several union leaders, protesting the detention of their colleagues, climbed onto rooftops and bus overbridges holding petrol bottles and threatened to take extreme steps. The Patiala protest is being led by the union’s Sawai vice president, Harkesh Vicky.
A heavy police deployment, led by DSP Jangjit Singh, has been stationed outside the Patiala bus stand to maintain order. The strike has caused significant inconvenience to commuters travelling towards Chandigarh, Rajpura and Delhi. Even employees of Punjabi University struggled to reach work, with many forced to take alternative routes due to the disruption.
