Accusing the State administration of bullying tactics, the transport unions have continued to oppose the State Government’s decision of transferring the roadways workshop land at Haridwar Road to Urban Development Department. The initial compensation amount of Rs 20 crore also did not settle down well with the unions, as they accuse the State Government and administration of hegemony.
The general secretary of Uttaranchal Roadways Karmchari Union (URKU), Ashok Chaudhary said, “The amount they have paid is not sufficient. If need be, we will knock the doors of the court or we will organise a protest. They are not only taking our land, but are also asking us to shift to another place in just about one month. The workshop at Transport Nagar is not fully made yet, about 20 per cent of the work there is still pending. The shifting time will take about six months at least. Our demand still stands, the ISBT stand which comes under the jurisdiction of Urban Development department should be transferred to Uttarakhand Transport Corporation (UTC).”
The general secretary of Roadways Karmchari Sanyukt Parishad, Dinesh Pant said, “The market value of this land is between Rs 250 crore to Rs 300 crore. For the land and the entire infrastructure that was built upon that, the government is only paying Rs 20 crore. It is like a slap on the wrist. The old bus stand on Gandhi road is also not apt for operation presently that is also because of poor decision and bad management. They have not even paid total Rs 20 crore, they paid Rs 19,07,00,000. This amount does not even cover one month’s salary of all transport employees.”