Transporters in Kashmir call for 2-day strike

Transporters in Kashmir today went on a two-day strike to protest against the shifting of a general bus stand at Batamaloo here, causing inconvenience to commuters across the Valley.
The two-day strike of buses and mini-buses across the Valley was called by the Kashmir Transporters Welfare Association (KTWA) to protest against the shifting of the Batamaloo General Bus Stand to Parimpora on the outskirts of the summer capital here, officials told PTI.
They said no buses or mini-buses were plying in the Valley, causing inconvenience to the people.
However, auto-rickshaw and sumo service associations did not participate in the protest strike, the officials added.

They said there was a huge rush of commuters waiting at bus-stops for public transport.
In the absence of public transport, several people were seen walking on foot to reach their destination, while others were asking for lifts from private cars and two-wheelers.

The state government had ordered shifting of the bus terminal connecting Srinagar with all the district headquarters of the Valley to Parimpora to decongest the city.
The high court had recently declared the Batamaloo bus stand as illegal and asked authorities to seal it.
Meanwhile, in a statement, the KTWA said shifting of the bus stand had adversely affected the livelihood of thousands of people and warned of a complete shutdown of public transport in the Valley.

"The government should stop playing around with the lives of transporters and traders. In case the government does not fulfil the demand of transporters of re-shifting the bus stand to Batamaloo, a complete shutdown will be observed on September 8, 9 and 10," Mukhtar Ahmad, KTWA spokesman said.