Roadways Contractual Workers End Strike; Sugs Lloyd Secures PSPCL Contract

After days of severe disruption, Punjab Roadways and PRTC bus services finally resumed operations on 3 Dec. The unions withdrew the agitation after receiving confirmation that jailed and detained union leaders were being released and that termination orders against contractual workers were revoked. Nearly 80% of government bus services were suspended during the strike and out of a fleet of 229 buses operated by Punjab Roadways and PRTC, 133 remained off the roads during the strike in Ludhiana. Meanwhile, Sugs Lloyd Limited—a popular engineering, procurement, and construction solutions provider in the power sector—has secured an order valued at USD 433.7M from the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited. (PSPCL). The project's primary aim is to enhance the state's power distribution networks by executing crucial loss reduction initiatives. Concurrently, powercom engineers from PSPCL, Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited (PSTCL), and Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) held a state-level protest meeting at Patiala on 3 Dec to urge the Panjab chief minister to restore the professional autonomy of PSPCL. The participants cited growing political interference and arbitrary actions by the power ministry as threats to the sector. They also condemned the overall trend of unwarranted political interference in technical, administrative and procurement decisions within the Power Corporation. Meanwhile, the Indian Railways has officially decided to restart work on the 40 km Qadian–Beas rail line, the construction for which had begun nearly a century ago under the British. The line had remained in the ‘freeze’ category due to land acquisition issues and political roadblocks. Minister of State for Railways, Ravneet Singh Bittu said, ‘This track will give a major boost to the struggling industrial units of Batala, the region’s steel town.’ However, at Dera Baba Nanak railway station, officials have begun the process of pulling down the century old 14 residential quarters that once housed the station master. Some believed that the Archaeological Survey of India would take note of the heritage complex once the Kartarpur Corridor was built. A railways official asked, ‘If the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus) in Mumbai can be given the heritage tag, why not Dera Baba Nanak? (earlier coverage).