Bus, Auto Strike: B'lore to come to a standstill for 2 days

Bangalore, Feb 18: India's IT hub Bangalore is going to have a harrowing time as buses and

-rickshaws will remain off the roads for two days. Reports suggest that two-day

, beginning from Wednesday, Feb 20 will bring the city to a standstill. [Update:

]

Media reports suggest that auto-rickshaws will not ply on roads on Wednesday and Thursday. While buses operated by Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) have also joined the strike.

The nation-wide strike called by trade unions has support among the auto-rickshaw and bus unions in the city.

The news of forthcoming strike has caused panic among the daily commuters of Bangalore. Many schools, colleges and offices are clueless as how would they function if autos and buses won't ply on the roads.

Buses and auto-rickshaws are the lifelines of the city.

However, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has appealed to central trade unions to withdraw their call for a countrywide strike. He has asked the trade union members to sit for a talk and solve their issues.

"I appeal to the Central Trade Unions to withdraw their call for a country wide General Strike on Feb 20 and 21, 2013. Such a strike would lead to avoidable loss to our economy and inconvenience to the public through disruption of services," the prime minister said on the official twitter account of his office.

"While some of the issues raised by the Trade Unions are already being acted upon and others are at various stages of consideration, I am confident that these discussions would result in a course of action that is acceptable both to the Trade Unions and the Government," the prime minister said.

OneIndia News