Bengalureans who reached the Metro station early Friday morning, were in for a rude shock. The Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) had suspended the train services across the city, indefinitely and without prior intimation, after the BMRC staff went on a strike. The striking employees were demanding the release of their colleagues, arrested following a scuffle between a BMRC staff and a Karnataka State Industrial Security Force personnel, on Thursday.
Within a month of the Namma Metro services beginning its operations, connecting the East-West and North-South corridor of Bengaluru, it has earned more than three lakh patrons on any given day. But, the sudden halt of service for seven hours, has raised concerns among the people, who embraced the public transport in a city known for its daunting number of private vehicles leading to notorious traffic jams.
Even as the BMRC staff boycotted work to join the protests at Byappanahalli metro station, helpless commuters were found stranded at the metro stations. By noon, a huge uproar by commuters who had to scramble for alternative mode of transport, and social media outpouring against the BMRCL for “letting a handful of employees hold a public service to ransom”, sent top officials of BMRCL, the state government, and the city police rushing to pacify the protesting BMRC staff. Finally, they succeeded in convincing them to withdraw the protest.
“A meeting will be convened next week to discuss the issues for better coordination. We will also try and understand what was the trigger for the current altercation between the employees,” said ACP (East) Hemant Nimbalkar.
More than one lakh commuters were affected by the suspension of services, leading to a revenue loss of approximately Rs 25 lakh, as 110 trips were disrupted before the services resumed by noon.
The city police confirmed that two BMRC staff and two KSISF constables have been arrested following a complaint and counter compliant by the parties.
Meanwhile, the state government has invoked Essential Services Maintenance Act 2013 (ESMA) to prevent the employees and the officers of BMRC from resorting to strikes, which would inconvenience the commuters.
