Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation employees on Friday decided to continue their indefinite strike after failure of talks with the government to resolve the impasse over salary hike.

"We have decided to continue the stir as government has not accepted our demand to increase salary from 10 per cent to 30 per cent," K.S. Sharma, representative of KSRTC and Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation employees said.

Speaking to reporters after talks with Principal Secretary (Transport) P Ravi Kumar and other officials late on Thursday night, he alleged government had gone back on its promise to solve the deadlock over the hike by citing 'unwanted reasons'.

H.V. Anantha Subba Rao, spokesperson for Joint Committee of five Unions representing representing KSRTC and BMTC workers, said government refused to accede to their main demand of 30 per cent increase in salary, saying the state is reeling under drought and the Centre had increased diesel price.

He said Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and Transport Minister R. Ashoka should have attended the meeting if they had concern for people, who are facing problems without transport. Rao also said the employees were ready to face anything, including imposition of ESMA by government.

However, Ravi Kumar said the employees demand cannot be considered due to the Rs five hike in diesel price, which would lead to about Rs 264 crore increase in expenditure.

"The state is also going through extreme drought," he said. He said government would not be in a position to approve tariff hike for transport corporations to meet increased expenditure as it would be a burden on people at this time of crisis.

Employees of KSRTC and BMTC had started the indefinite strike on Thursday, protesting against the managements 'unilaterally' taking a decision on wage revision.

Desperate Bengaluru, strike still on

Some 3.5 million Bengalureans were put to enormous hardship on Thursday as over 90 per cent of the buses remained off the roads, leaving hapless office-goers, schoolchildren and other commuters, and many left at the mercy of rapacious auto drivers and taxis.

With talks between striking KSRTC and BMTC union leaders and the government deadlocked late on Thursday night, Bengalureans could be faced with another harrowing day on Friday as despite directives from the minister of education, schools and colleges insisted on staying open.

The government, threatening to invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act to force BMTC and KSRTC drivers back to work, will make available another 2000 private buses and 26,000 maxi cabs and has asked neighbouring states to run more inter-state buses.

3.5 million stranded

* Deputy CM R. Ashok pressed police vans and buses into service to ply stranded commuters at various bus stations. While Mr. Ashok failed to pull a rabbit out of his ‘Transport minister’ hat, as Home minister he ordered police vehicles onto the roads to help commuters. Some six vans were arranged from Majestic, Shivajinagar and K.R. Market bus stands.

* Hike in salaries for KSRTC-BMTC employees will cost the state exchequer an additional
Rs 500-600 crore.

* Akshatha Rao, 28, who had arrived in the city with her 6 month old baby from Mangalore had a hard time finding transport from the Mysore Road Satellite Bus Station to get to Koramangala. “One autodriver demanded `350,” she said.