Nashik, Feb 3
Tired of frequent strikes of Citilinc bus conductors, the Nashik Municipal Corporation has appointed a new contractor, who now has the responsibility of Nashik Road Depot. Recently, 50 new conductors have joined the bus service. The old contract will end after four months. Citilinc employees have been on frequent strikes due to non-payment of wages on time. In a bid to resolve this issue, the NMC has taken this step.
A company based in Nagpur, Unique, has been given the task of providing conductors for the Nashik Road division of Citilinc; they have provided 50 conductors so far. The previous contractor's term will expire after four months, after which this new contractor will provide 180 more conductors. The Municipal Corporation started the Citilinc bus service in July 2021. The bus service is operational from Panchavati and Nashik Road. It was decided to appoint two contractors, one for each division separately, to provide conductors for this service. Accordingly, the limit of each contractor was 400. Initially, only a single contractor provided conductors as the number of vehicles was less.
Later, Citilinc asked the same contractor for 550 more conductors due to good response to the bus service from Nashikites. However, these conductors had staged seven protests in the last two years, which not only disrupted the bus service, but also tarnished the image of Citilinc. Thus, the NMC decided to appoint two independent contractors for both the depots. This is to ensure that at least fifty percent of the bus services will continue if the conductors from one depot go on strike. Accordingly, Citilinc made a decision in December 2022 and started the tender process. This process continued for a year. The company Unique, from Nagpur, qualified for it. However, as the company did not pay the deposit amount of Rs 1 crore in time, the commencement order was delayed. Finally, after paying the deposit in January, the company has now received the work commencement order.
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The Citilinc bus service has incurred a loss of Rs 60 crores in the last two years. Delhi-based Max company is responsible for providing conductors for 200 Citilinc buses. Its partner in Nashik is looking after the work. But there are many complaints such as defaulting on salaries, and non-payment of bonuses.