Chakka bandh by All Assam Motor Transport Association hits daily commuters

GUWAHATI: The indefinite strike called by the All Assam Motor Transport Association (AAMTA) entered its third day on Wednesday.

The Chakka bandh was called to meet the demands of the city bus operators for a fare hike as the buses were operating with 50 per cent of passengers' capacity with the same fares as earlier.

The Assam State Transport Corporation has allotted a total of 350 buses across the State to ply amid the Chakka bandh. Out of the total buses, a few are running in the city however, the numbers are too less for the convenience of all the commuters of the city. Thus, the daily commuters are having a tough time despite the availability of ride-hailing platforms like Ola, Uber, and Rapido.

"City buses are the easiest and most comfortable way to travel. We don't earn much salary so it is not possible to bear the expenses of OLA, Uber. Thus we are facing difficulties due to the strike." said a resident of the city.

"We have to wait for a long time to get the ASTC buses. It has become very hard to reach office on time," said another citizen who is a daily commuter.

"People who have personal cars or have a good income will be much affected by the bandh. But people like us who are dependent on city buses for commute are struggling," another resident added.

According to the city bus drivers, they have to maintain social distancing among passengers due to the pandemic. Thus by carrying 50 per cent passengers they are not being able to even cover their oil expenses and are incurring huge loses.

"We are in huge loss as only 50 per cent passengers are allowed in buses. The government should at least increase the fair by a little margin so that we can run our families," said a driver.