The strike, was called to protest "impractical" school bus safety norms, received a mixed response in the city.
After a day of panic and frayed tempers, parents of schoolchildren can now breathe easy. School bus operators called off their state-wide strike on Friday evening, after a parents' association filed a public interest litigation (PIL) against their association.
Earlier in the day, the strike, called to protest "impractical" school bus safety norms, received a mixed response in the city.
Upset with the inconvenience caused to the parents, the Forum For Fairness in Education, an education NGO, filed a PIL in the Bombay high court against school bus owners. The School Bus Owners' Association (SBOA) was quick to respond. It called off the strike, claiming that the decision was taken keeping in mind the hardship faced by parents and students heading for examinations.
Anil Garg, president of SBOA, said instead, the association will mark their protest with black flags on their buses. "Our strike was complete and peaceful on Friday. We will resume our services. Our issue has also been referred to the HC and it will come up for a hearing on Monday," he said.
Parents had a tough time seeing their children off to school, given that around 33,000 of the 49,500 school bus operators had supported the strike. Some schools even declared a holiday on account of the strike.
A few parents complained that their kids' schools failed to inform them about the strike. Rinkesh Jain, whose daughter studies at a Mazgaon school, said, "I was waiting for the school bus at the stop for nearly 30 minutes. Only when I called up the school did I find out that buses are not running. I had to drop my daughter off to school on my way to work. There was chaos near the school gate, as all parents had come to drop their children. There was no place even to park."
The NGO is now planning to file a case in the consumer forum to seek compensation. "Almost all the parents had paid the school bus fee in advance. There was no reason to harass parents and children. The dispute was between the government and bus owners. The, why are the children and parents being targeted without any fault on their side?
Parents and children have had to pay for hiring a taxi, an auto or taking a bus. Now, the question is who will compensate for this?" asked Jayant Jain, president of the NGO.
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