Footboard travel: MTC bus crew resort to flash strike, traffic hit

Footboard travel: MTC bus crew resort to flash strike, traffic hit

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:19.12.2021

Traffic was affected for about one and a half hour at Otteri in north Chennai after crew of 12 MTC buses parked the vehicles across Strahan's Road in protest over being manhandled by a group of schoolstudents who were travelling on the footboard of an MTC bus.

The flash protest impacted vehicular movements on many other arterial roads connecting Purasawalkam with north Chennai.

Otteri police inspector Krishna Murthy detained two of the students and launched a search for those absconding.

A team of police went to to the spot and talked to the crew after which the protest was lifted. The incident happened around 3.30pm and the students reportedly boarded the bus (29-A plying between Anna Square and Perambur) at Doveton bus stop. Since they were travelling on the footboard and also tried to climb atop the bus, conductor Karthik warned them.

However, the students allegedly did not get in and instead made fun of the conductor. On Strahan's Road, Karthik shouted at the students again and in return, the students got down from the bus and hurled stones at the windshield.

The crew immediately stopped the bus and staged a protest, who were soon joined by the other members of MTC.

Of late, videos of students travelling footboard of MTC buses and EMU trains have gone viral on social media. In a recent incident in Gummidipoondi, a girl and a boy were summoned by police and and let off with an warning for footboard travel on an EMU train.

SEEKING ACTION: MTC bus crew of protest at Otteri on Saturday