In Punjab, contract workers of PRTC and Punbus went on a strike this afternoon to protest the state government's failure to meet their demands. With Rakshabandhan approaching tomorrow, the government acted swiftly to avoid public inconvenience, addressing the workers' concerns within one hour and 50 minutes.

The government has postponed the tender for adding buses under the kilometer scheme and released the budget for workers' salaries to the depots. A meeting with the Transport Minister has been scheduled for August 13 at 3:30 PM in Chandigarh.

Following these assurances, the workers decided to resume work but clarified that the strike is only suspended until August 13. They warned that if their demands remain unmet, they will resume the strike from August 14. Bus services have now restarted.

The workers had given the government an ultimatum until this afternoon, threatening a strike if their demands were not met. Resham Singh, the head of the contract workers' union, stated that the strike had begun due to the government's deliberate delays.

PRTC buses operate on 577 routes across Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Uttarakhand, covering approximately 355,827 kilometers daily. With 1,310 regular employees and a total workforce of 8,000, these buses are a lifeline for the public, and any disruption significantly impacts common people.