12 Kolkata: Thousands of commuters from the airport, Baguiati, Kestopur, Chinar Park and Kankurgachhi are having a tough time since Wednesday as all buses plying on route 46 have gone off the road due to an unrest between the worker syndicate and the owners. There are 63 buses on three 46 — 46, 46A and 46B — routes, which serve as the only direct link between the airport-New Town areas and College Street. Around 230 workers are employed on these routes.
"We received no notice on what was happening. On Wednesday, its absence was not felt as it was a holiday due to Shivratri. However, on Thursday, when one could usually get a bus every 10-12 minutes, we had no option but to search for alternatives. All buses from this side, like 12C/2 and L-238, ran packed. We were forced to change autos and reach Ultadanga before we could board a bus to the office at Bowbazar," said Shankar Ghosh, a Kestopur resident.
Priyanka Sarkar, another commuter from the Airport Gate 1 area, who takes the bus to College Street, said she had no option but to look for a cab as the other buses were overcrowded. "There was a dearth of cabs, and I got late. An internal issue cannot be the reason why commuters should suffer," pointed out Sarkar.
The bus owners have written to the transport department principal secretary, demanding action against the former route secretary for orchestrating the protest, misusing bus profits and worker welfare funds and threatening to stop buses in the middle of the road. "We owners held a meeting on Thursday and have decided to continue with the strike. Unless the route secretary and his men are removed from our stands, we will be unable to continue with services," said Durgadas Biswas, the secretary of the 46, 46A, 46B Bus Owners' Welfare Association.
Titu Saha of City Suburban Bus Service, the parent body of this route, said they wanted the two warring sides to arrive at a solution. "We cannot let commuters suffer. We may lose commuters permanently," said Saha.
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