The Uttarakhand Transport Corporation has released money for the pending salary for the month of August. However, the Uttaranchal Roadways Karmchari Union (URKU) has warned State administration to pay the pending salary for the month of September and Diwali bonus as well otherwise it will start a movement against the administration from October 20 onward.

The UTC General Manager (Operation and Technical) Deepak Jain said that about Rs 18 crore has been released to pay the pending salary of all transport employees, including those who are on regular basis, contractual employees and the ones on daily wages.

The general secretary of URKU, Ashok Chaudhary said, “We have already been waiting  too long for our salaries. Now that it has been released, it is still not clearing all the dues. All the employees need their salary and bonus for the upcoming festival. Every year we were given bonus, but this year, the decision has not been taken yet. If the transport department is really going through difficult financial condition, then only are employees subjected to pending salaries. Transport employees are working overtime, but still they are not being paid on time whereas the senior officials never have to face such financial crisis.”

The state general secretary of Uttarakhand Roadways Employees Union (UREU), Ravinandan Kumar has also demanded payment of pending salary for September and Diwali bonus. He stated that for about seven thousand transport employees, salary amount has been released for divisions- Dehradun, Tanakpur and Kathgodam for which they are thankful but the pending salary for September should be paid before Diwali festival.

In addition to the problem of pending salary, URKU general secretary Choudhary said that some owners of contractual buses are embezzling diesel from the Government. Explaining further, he said that air conditioned and Volvo buses are supposed to keep running even while waiting for the passengers to board or during the lunch or dinner break, but many of the contractual bus owners don’t do so and sell the remaining fuel.

He also claimed to have complained about the same to senior officers but no concrete actions have been taken.