Mumbai : The strike called by several unions of autorickshaw and buses to oppose the proposed Road Safety and Transport Bill 2014 had no effect on the city and it was called off after state transport minister Diwakar Raote addressed the apprehensions of the union representatives on Thursday morning.
Raote said, “We called even those unions which were not participating in the strike and heard their grievances. Their fears were addressed and we assured them that privatisation of the state assets such as the depots will not be done.” The meeting was conducted at 10 am and continued till 10:45 am after which all the unions called off the one-day strike.
However, the strike was observed for a couple of hours before the meeting in the morning during which several of the BEST buses plying on the streets were damaged. Stones were pelted on eight BEST buses, however, no injuries were reported in the incident.
Uday Ambodkar, conveyer of National Federation of Transport Workers, which had given the call for the strike, said, “We have been assured by the minister that under the new transport law specifically for Maharashtra, privatisation of BEST and the state transport buses will not be done. Also, the proposed Road Safety and Transport Bill 2014 will not be implemented in the state.”
