Chennai bus crews strike work after driver attacked
By IANSMonday, October 4, 2010
CHENNAI - Lakhs of people were stranded as Chennai Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) workers struck work Monday to protest an assault on their colleagues by a gang led by a DMK councillor’s son.
A car with Senthil, the son of DMK’s Ambattur councillor Anbu, and his friends tried to overtake a city bus Sunday night but did not get way. After managing to do so, they stopped the bus and argued with the driver. Senthil and his friends then started assaulting the driver and conductor.
Senthil then mobilised more of his friends and damaged six buses and attacked the crew.
On coming to know about the attack, MTC bus crew demanded immediate arrest of Senthil and his friends and struck work. More than 1,500 buses did not ply on the city roads putting the public to severe difficulty.
Four injured MTC workers have been admitted to the Government Hospital here.
“The four are severely injured and none of the MTC top officials cared to enquire about them,” fumed a bus driver.
Senthil and three of his friends have been arrested.
Top officials of MTC held talks with the workers and convinced them to resume work and subsequently buses started to get back on the road.
However, bus services in the city did not reach normal levels even till evening while autorickshaws and taxis had a field day fleecing the harried commuters.
