Karnataka bus strike called off but do you know how much it cost the exchequer?

The union leaders of KSRTC, NWRTC, NERTC and BMTC on Wednesday advised members to report for duty, providing relief to thousands of commuters.

Bengaluru: The three-day-old indefinite strike by 1.23 lakh employees of the four state-run road transport corporations in Karnataka was called off on Wednesday evening after the state government agreed to increase their wages by 12.5 percent instead of 10 percent offered earlier.

Schools and colleges in most parts of the state had remained shut for three days due to the strike.

As the agitated public expressed outrage over the standoff between the state government and the employees through various fora, including social media, news channels, and print media, a climb down by both sides led the unions to call off the strike though their demand for 30-35 percent hike was rejected as untenable.

The corporations are reported to have incurred Rs 51 crore loss due to the three-day strike and damage to about 120 buses in stone-throwing incidents across the state.

The wage hike will result in an additional burden of Rs 2,800 crore over the next four years to the exchequer.

Bus services resumed from 6 pm in Bengaluru and other cities and towns across the state after the union leaders of KSRTC, NWRTC, NERTC and BMTC advised members to report for duty, providing relief to thousands of commuters who faced harrowing time since Monday when strike paralysed their movement.