When a 16-day strike by transport employees and a bus accident on Deepavali shook Tamil Nadu in 2001

It was November 2001. Less than two months earlier, O. Panneerselvam, a first-time MLA, had taken over as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu after the Supreme Court unseated his predecessor Jayalalithaa on account of her conviction in the TANSI land deal cases.

Days before Deepavali, transport corporation employees’ unions affiliated to various political parties, barring the AIADMK-backed Anna Thozhirsanga Peravai and a few others, demanded annual bonus be raised to 20%. The previous year, they had received 8.33% with other benefits.

Nainar Nagendran (as his name was spelt then; currently BJP state president) was the Transport Minister. He held several rounds of discussions with the unions and offered 8.33% as bonus and ₹1,000 as festival advance. No ex-gratia could be granted due to the difficult financial position. He also said unlike in the past, the bonus would be paid to employees at all levels irrespective of pay, according to a report published in The Hindu on November 10, 2001.

As transport employees went on strike, RTO officials screen private buses and issue trip sheets and permits at Chennai on November 14, 2001
| Photo Credit:
S.R. Raghunathan

The deadlock continued. Employees launched an indefinite strike. Normalcy was thrown out of gear as regular transport services were disrupted. Office goers, school students and traders struggled to reach destinations on time. In various places, the police detained the protestors. A few days into the protest, family members of the transport employees also joined in, picketing bus depots. With bus services hit across Tamil Nadu, the government recruited temporary drivers to operate buses.

The TNSTC bus accident

While the standoff continued, tragedy struck on Deepavali day – November 14. A Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) bus collided with a maxi cab van at Nalattinputhur, about 10 kilometres from Kovilpatti on the Nagercoil-Madurai highway in Thoothukudi district. The van, headed towards Kayathar, was carrying residents from Sivakasi, Villiseri, Nalattinputhur and Idaiseval. It was thrown off the road and overturned. A total of 28 persons were killed in the tragic accident. More than 15 were injured and admitted to the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital.

Both vehicles were negotiating a bend near Nalattinputhur, a stretch locals described as accident-prone, this newspaper reported the following day.

The mangled remains of a van which was involved in a collision with a TNSTC bus at Nalattinputhur near Kovilpatti in Thoothukudi district on November 14, 2001
| Photo Credit:
The Hindu Archives

Behind the wheel without rest

Police said the maxi cab was carrying 35 passengers though it was permitted to carry only 12 persons. The vehicle was reportedly moving at a high speed. Meanwhile, transport unions alleged the bus driver was a casual labourer recruited during the strike and had been driving without rest for three days.

Reacting to the accident, Mr. Panneerselvam said norms on passenger loads in vans and other vehicles would be enforced strictly. He said the temporary bus driver had 15 years of experience in the private sector. Transport officials maintained the accident was not linked to the strike. They too said the Kovilpatti-Kayathar stretch was prone to accidents.

The bus shelter at the Chennai Central railway station was knocked down by a bus driven by a temporary driver on November 14, 2001
| Photo Credit:
Vino John

Opposition leaders including DMK president M. Karunanidhi, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president E.V.K.S. Elangovan, CPI (M) State secretary N. Sankariah and Congress Jananayaka Peravai general secretary P. Chidambaram, came down heavily on the government for the accident.

Government’s firm stand

Meanwhile, the protests continued across the State. The government held several rounds of talks with the unions to resolve the deadlock. Mr. Panneerselvam, Finance Minister C. Ponnaiyan and Mr. Nagendran met representatives of trade unions on November 15, 2001. The Chief Minister said the trade union leaders had been informed about the accumulated losses of ₹2,035 crore in transport corporations and a projected additional loss of ₹481 crore the following year. He said the corporations had loans of ₹990 crore to repay, over ₹380 crore in unpaid instalments and a similar amount due immediately.

Applicants queue up during a drive for temporary recruitment of MTC crew at Chennai during the transport employees’ strike on November 11, 2001
| Photo Credit:
R. Ragu

Mr. Panneerselvam remained firm that a 20% bonus could not be considered. He said conceding the demand would prompt similar claims from other government employees and undertakings. The joint action committee of transport unions said there was no point in further talks as the Chief Minister had ruled out the demand.

Prisons overflow

Meanwhile, arrests of transport corporation employees mounted across Tamil Nadu, leading to overflow of prisons. In Chennai, 1,385 arrested transport employees were lodged in condemned prisoners’ cells in Chennai Central Prison which could hold only 500 inmates. Though the prison had facilities for 1,419 prisoners, it housed 3,121 remand prisoners, a report in The Hindu said. Water shortage worsened conditions. In Puzhal, 900 inmates were lodged against a capacity of 150.

Agitating transport employees of Tamil Nadu government court arrest in Chennai on November 18, 2001
| Photo Credit:
R. Ragu

Surprisingly, after 16 days, the transport employees’ unions decided to withdraw the strike on November 25, 2001. The move surprised some protesters who argued there was no written assurance on the 20% bonus from the government.

A. Soundararajan, convener of the joint action committee, said the fight for 20% would continue. More than 30,000 workers were in jail and their welfare had to be considered, he said. About 85% of employees had joined the strike and the government had assured that the balance amount would be paid before Tamil New Year (April 14, 2002), he said. However, Mr. Nagendran later denied any such commitment was made. Yet, the Anna Thozhirsanga Peravai and the INTUC issued posters thanking Jayalalithaa for “granting a 20% bonus.”

As the strike by Tamil Nadu government transport employees intensified, private buses flood Coimbatore on November 16, 2001
| Photo Credit:
K. Ananthan

Action taken

Mr. Nagendran reiterated the offer was limited to the statutory 8.33%. He said most detained workers had been released, though cases against those arrested on specific charges would continue. He assured while striking employees had been served show cause notices, there would be no vindictive action. Temporary employees hired during the strike would be relieved, he said. The protesting employees would neither be paid for the strike period nor adjusted against leave, he added.

Return to normalcy

Though the strike ended, normal bus operations took another one week to resume as many workers were still in prison. A report on November 27, 2001 noted that only 50% of services were running in Chennai and in several districts.

To commute to their destination during the strike by transport employees, passengers travel on the roof of a crowded van at Old Mahabalipuram Road near Chennai on November 12, 2001
| Photo Credit:
R. Ragu

As the transport corporations were reeling under severe financial stress, it was widely speculated the State government would increase the bus fares. But, the government ruled out any such decision and proposed austerity measures including merger of 19 transport corporations into seven undertakings.

Published – February 25, 2026 05:30 am IST