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NT Bureau
Chennai, Aug 7:
 

DEMAND  AND NO SUPPLY: The transport union members were on the move today. But the general public, those dependent on the public transport, were not. Only minimal bus services were run due to the transport unions' rally (above). Most depots and bus stops were crowded  as the public waited for the buses which were actually waiting for their drivers in depots. Photos: A R Jayakumar, A Prathap & K Vijay Anand

        The trade unions affiliated to the ruling DMK today organised a march up to the Secretariat here demanding the restoration of the concessions rolled back by the previous AIADMK government. The immediate fallout of this was felt on the city roads as very few buses were operated and thousands of office-goers and children were put to hardship.

        The trade unions belonging to the DMK had called for this march to the Secretariat at the conclusion of which they submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister M Karuna-nidhi seeking his intervention to restore their 'legitimate' rights which were rolled back by the previous Jayalalithaa government.

        Conductors, drivers and staff of the various transport corporations from all over the State took part in the rally. Consequently, in Chennai, drivers and conductors left their vehicles in the depots in the respective areas and took part in the rally.

        With only limited bus services in operation, the already harried office-goers and students were even more harried. And as it happens inevitably, the situation was used by the autodrivers to further fleece the desperate office-goers.

        According to Ramasamy (59), 'a journey in MTC buses during peak hour is harrowing even in the best of times. Today with very few buses running on the roads, the task of reaching office was all the more difficult. We waited for more than a hour to get a bus at Puzhuthivakkam.'

        Further, traffic was badly hit in a busy stretch like GST Road since members belonging to the trade unions thronged the city in their vehicles.

        Poornalakshmi, a resident of Ayanavaram, said, 'all these days I was utilising the services of EMUs. Since the revised timetable of the trains put me in a spot of bother, I decided to reach office by bus. However, the rally put paid to my ideas.'

        Meanwhile, members of the trade unions took out the rally from Monroe Statue to the Secretariat led by DMK MP C Kuppusamy. The rally threw traffic out of gear at Mount Road and the vehicles moved at snail's pace.