PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun
Drivers and conductors of the Uttarakhand Transport Corporation (UTC) operating in Garhwal division staged an agitation at the Regional Office of UTC on Friday under the banner of Roadways Karmchari Sanyukt Parishad, demanding release of their pending salaries for June and July.
The president of the Parishad, Dehradun division, Mukesh Naithani said that drivers and conductors have not received salaries for the last two months.
He said that the delay has hit the workers financially, with many facing difficulties in paying school fees of their children and running their households. Despite contacting the officials concerned of UTC, no action has been taken, which forced them to start the agitation.
“The protest was staged by workers of Garhwal division which includes Roorkee, Haridwar, Dehradun, Srinagar and Rishikesh,” he said.
He informed that on Thursday, the employees staged a protest from 10 AM to 12 PM at the Transport Nagar area of Dehradun and on Friday, they held a similar protest at the Regional Office of UTC at the same time schedule.
Naithani said the protest will continue till their salaries are released and warned that if the pending salaries are not paid soon, the agitation will be intensified.
When contacted, UTC general manager (Operations) Kranti Singh said that there are two types of seasons – lean season and Yatra season. Currently, the lean season is underway, during which the income of the corporation declines.
He said that UTC is a self financed corporation and has to bear its expenses on its own. Every year during this period, there is a delay in salaries of workers due to the lean season. However, He said that the process of releasing salaries in a phased manner has now commenced.
