NAGPUR: The indefinite strike by the employees of bus operators of Nagpur Municipal Corporation affected normal bus services in the city on Tuesday as many mini bus stands wore a deserted look.The striking bus operators want the government to implement minimum wages, setting up of inquiry committees in all bus operators and conductors’ agencies, to induct all employees of ousted city bus operator Vansh Nimay Infraprojects. Besides this, city bus service being operated by the NMC, all employees of the operators should be recruited on a permanent basis.The drivers-conductors under the banner of Shiv Sena-affiliated Bharatiya Kamgar Sena Nagpur Union had submitted a memorandum to municipal commissioner Ashwin Mudgal and announced to go on strike on January 19 last month.Even a tripartite meeting between officials of the NMC's transport department, the Labour Department and office-bearers of the union failed to break the deadlock.Presently, through four bus operators, the civic body run 375 buses on 123 routes.Though the officials claimed that they would operate buses smoothly by hiring ad hoc drivers and conductors to maintain bus services, it has failed. At several depots, striking workers deflated the tyres of buses to prevent operation of services.The main bus stands –Mor Bhavan, Maharajbagh Road, Dhiran Kanya in the city and the outskirts wore a deserted look.The Kamgar Sena of the striking union claimed that 100% of drivers and conductors of four bus operators and two ticketing agencies had joined the strike. Convener Bandu Talwekar described the strike as the strongest warning to the NMC against non-implementation of minimum wages.In the absence of city buses, private vehicles including autorickshaws plying in the city reportedly fleeced passengers by charging extra fare. The app based cabs, however, too was in great demand.Municipal commissioner Ashwin Mudgal said that the civic body has already approached the Maharashtra government for invoking Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) against the striking employees. To a query, Mudgal said all the four-bus operators and two ticketing agencies are paying wages as per minimum wages act. “We have already provided list of around 15 anti-social elements for instigating bus employees for the strike to the city police,” he said.

Stay updated with all the Latest Nagpur headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.