Shimla: The employees of Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) have postponed their strike till July 26. The bus services will resume as per schedule from Sunday onwards.
A meeting between Transport Minister Bikram Singh and HRTC employees has been scheduled for July 26. Further decisions on the strike will be taken after the outcome of the meeting.
On Saturday, HRTC bus operators were on a strike in Shimla, Rampur Bushahr, Solan, Rohru, Nahan, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Sarkaghat, Una and other places causing inconvenience to the commuters.
The HRTC employees have been protesting against the transfer of the Regional Manager (RM) of Shimla Local DS Negi to Nerwa in the Shimla district.
HRTC employees have accused the government of bowing down to the pressure of private bus operators and said DS Negi has been transferred just for the benefit of private bus operators.
Earlier on Saturday, Bikram Singh took a stern cognizance against the strike of HRTC employees and said that disciplinary action, will be taken against them if they do not call off the strike.
Terming this protest as unfortunate, he said that drivers and conductors of HRTC will not decide about the transfer of the RM.
He said that HRTC has opened a new unit in Nerwa, for which a senior and experienced officer is required, therefore, considering his experience, Devasen Negi has been transferred to Nerwa.
“The transfer order has not been issued as a punishment” he added.
Singh said that the driver and conductors are unnecessarily making it a big issue.
He said that the person who had been appointed as the RM Shimla is a cancer patient and he does not want to go to Nerwa because of this.
He further said that as per the rules, an employee can be transferred to any place after three years and the decision to transfer an employee is taken by the government.
“The government has full right to decide when and where to transfer a government employee,” said Singh.
