BMTC staff stage flash protest after woman conductor attempts suicide inside depot premises

Bengaluru: A 33-year-old BMTC woman conductor attempted suicide by consuming poison inside the Sumanahalli Depot premises on Thursday afternoon triggering flash protest from over 100 BMTC drivers and conductors working out of the depot here.

The victim, Jyothi  who is undergoing treatment at a depot hospital is said to be in a stable condition now. Her colleagues, alleged harassment by the depot manager as the reason for her extreme step.   

As per reports Jyothi has been working with the BMTC for the last 14 years and was posted in the same depot for the last six years. On the day of the incident, when she reported for duty in her usual shift(6am-1pm), the depot manager did not assign her duty and asked her to report on a 12-hour shift from 8am-8pm as she was purportedly not bringing enough revenue.

Though Jyothi requested him not to change her shift timings abruptly since she had a three-year-old child, the manager remained unobliging. After waiting for a few hours, a dejected Jyothi is said to have consumed poison at around 1.30 pm. She was immediately rushed to the depot hospital where she is recovering. 

Following the incident, other drivers and conductors staged a flash protest demanding suspension of the manager. As many as 80 trips were cancelled due to the protest that lasted till around 9 pm. The protestors alleged that the depot manager was not only harassing the employees for not bringing enough revenue but was also tweaking the shift timings of employees. The protest was finally called off after senior BMTC staff intervened and assured to look into the matter.