HOWRAH: Commuters, who take buses from Howrah Maidan, suffered a great deal on Monday due to a day-long flash strike by operators, drivers and conductors of mini buses plying on 10 Kolkata-bound routes.The strike was called after cops allegedly thrashed a mini bus driver around 8am for urinating in a drain near the MG Road-GT Road crossing. The driver suffered injuries to his abdomen and private parts. Later, police got him admitted to a Howrah hospital.Enraged drivers, conductors and owners of around 280 buses immediately stopped services in protest. Passengers, who had taken seats on buses at Howrah Maidan terminus, were asked to get off. Around 8am, the protesters staged a demonstration on MG Road, demanding an end to "police atrocities".Bimala Saha (63) of Howrah's Rajballav Saha Lane said, "I was headed to my ailing daughter's house at Salt Lake's Karunamoyee. I urged them to at least ply those buses for which tickets had been sold. But they returned the money for the tickets and refused to ply the buses. I am against police atrocities, but passengers must not be subjected to such sudden harassment."Bank employee Amit Roy from Howrah's Kadamtala said, "They could have aired their grievances in other ways. They could have filed an FIR against the cops who beat up the driver. They could have agitated before the top brass of Howrah City Police. Why stop services and harass passengers?"An officer said, "We will discuss this with representatives of the associations of mini bus owners and bus staffers."

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