Bengaluru Metro Strike Called Off, Services Resumed

Thousands of commuters were left stranded when Bengaluru’s Namma Metro Services came to a halt on Friday in the wake of protests undertaken by Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) staff. The staff members temporarily stopped the service that was supposed to start at 5 am in the morning.

As reported by Bangalore Mirror, the halt was created by a fight that broke out between a group of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) and the Karnataka State Industrial Security Force (KSISF) personnel, who were on duty at the Sir M Visvesvaraya Metro Station (Central College). The clash flared up when the BMCL staffers refused to undergo the security screening and physical frisking before entering the Metro station.

The turf war was finally broken when onlookers called local policemen to the spot. However, by then, two KSISF constables Anand Guddad and Lakshman were roughed up by around ten Metro staffers. Six BMRCL employees were arrested on Thursday, 6 July.

This incident was then followed by the Bengaluru Namma Metro bandh on the same day. Metro staffers have demanded the release of their fellow workers who were arrested for thrashing policemen so far.

“The maintenance staff refused to run their belongings through the scanner while reporting to work every day. The BMRCL staff were of the opinion that they need not scan their belongings as they work there every day,” the Halasuru Gate Police informed The News Minute.

DCP Central, Chandragupta, said, “We have registered an FIR and are identifying those who were involved in the assault based on the video footage we have obtained.”

Chief public relations officer of BMRCL, UA Vasanth Rao while talking to Times of India said, “Metro staff are demanding the release of their colleagues and decided not to attend work until then. We are trying to resolve the issue and resume train operations as early as possible.”

After talks between officials and Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) staff members, the strike was called off today and services resumed.