Chandigarh, Nov 28 || Contractual employees of the state-owned Punjab Roadways, Punbus and Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) went on strike on Friday after police picked up several union leaders, protesting the opening of tenders under the Kilometre Scheme, leaving commuters across the state stranded as over 3,000 buses stayed off roads.
People, especially women, faced inconvenience across the strike by contractual employees on all 27 depots of both the roadways.
The travel of women is free in the state roadways buses. There were reports of a scuffle between the police and the strikers in Patiala and Sangrur towns.
The protest affected passengers at various places, including Patiala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Moga, Amritsar and Ferozepur. Many passengers said they had to opt for private buses or taxis to reach their destination.
Bus services on inter-state routes and within the state were affected, officials said. The passengers were compelled to shell out more money to reach their respective destinations by private buses and other modes of transportation such as taxis.