Private bus strike begins in Kerala’s Kannur district; passengers stranded, KSRTC runs additional services

A district-wide strike by private bus operators began in Kannurm Kerala, on Thursday, disrupting public transport and leaving thousands of passengers stranded. The strike was called in protest against the National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) alleged “failure to honour its promise” to construct an underpass near the Nadal OK UP School as part of the NH-66 development works.

Private buses stayed off the road across the district from morning, affecting commuters, including students. The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) operated additional services on several routes to ease the crisis, though these were insufficient to manage the heavy rush, operators said.

Bus services were disrupted on key roots including Kannur-Thalassery-Kuthuparamba-Kannur, Thalassery-Panoor-Mahe bridge, Taliparamba-Kannur, Taliparamba-Alakode- Sreekandapuram, Payyanur-Taliparamba and Irikkur-Thalassery-Mattannur-Kannur. Private buses were seen parked at bus stand and along roadsides, forcing passengers to rely largely on KSRTC and private vehicles offering limited services.

‘Pending for years’

The strike was called by the Bus Operators Coordination Committee following continued uncertainty over the proposed underpass near the school. Bus owners said the demand for an underpass has been pending for years and warned that, if it is not built, buses travelling from Kannur to Thottada and onward to Thalassery would have to take a detour of nearly 7 km.

Such a diversion would significantly increase fuel costs, which operators said they could not afford amid the ongoing financial crisis in the sector. They also pointed out that the existing service roads were inadequate in terms of width, making these unsuitable for large vehicles.

A joint action committee warned that the agitation would be intensified in the coming days if there was no urgent intervention at the government level to the resolve the issue.