Transporters defer strike in evening, but several commuters struggle through the day

Pune: The Maharashtra Transport Action Committee on Thursday evening deferred its indefinite strike by a week against alleged misuse of the e-challan system and arbitrary penalties after receiving assurance from govt.Prasanna Patwardhan, president of the Bus and Car Owners Confederation of India and a senior member of the Maharashtra Transport Action Committee, toldTOI, "Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde contacted and requested us to give a week's time as the assembly session was under way. We have agreed to wait for a week."
Earlier in the day, however, many commuters were left stranded as multiple transport unions held protests and enforced a "chakka jam" as part of an indefinite strike. Transporters marched with buses and commercial vehicles from Sarasbaug to the RTO office and then to the collectorate. Caught in the chaos, Camp resident Rajendra Pardeshi reached Shankarsheth Road for his private bus to Kolhapur, only to discover the trip had been abruptly cancelled. "Luckily, Swargate MSRTC depot was closeby. I rushed and managed to catch a bus. But passengers should've been warned," he said, taken aback by the uncertainty.Saurabh Rai, who was headed to the Pune railway station from Shivajinagar to pick up a relative, found himself trapped near the RTO for nearly an hour. "Suddenly, the road was flooded with buses and cabs as the protest started right there. I had to tell my relative to just hop into an autorickshaw," he said.Tilak Road turned into yet another congestion zone. Working professional Kailash Bagre described the jam as "unbelievable". "The road is already narrow. Add dozens of heavy vehicles moving together, and you have a recipe for utter chaos," he said.The situation worsened briefly as cab and autorickshaw unions lent support to the strike, causing app-based cab bookings to stall. Keshav Kshirsagar, the president of Baghtoy Rickshawala Union and Indian Gig Workers Front, said many cabbies had joined in solidarity. "The e-challan system must be fixed immediately," he said.President of Maharashtra State Vahan Chalak Malak Pratinidhi Mahasangh Baba Shinde many intercity and interstate buses and trucks suspended operations through the day. "We want abolition of the new e-challan rule and suspension of pending fines," he said.