TN woman blocks bus after it fails to stop for her

NAMAKKAL: A woman blocked a Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) bus and held a sit in protest in front of it near Otta Methai in Namakkal district on Saturday alleging that it did not halt when she signalled earlier in the day.K Saritha of Phatharai village near Veppadai, who is a temporary worker in Pallipalayam municipality, was going for work in the morning. She was waiting at Phatharai bus stop. She signalled to stop a TNSTC bus. But the bus, attached to Salem division (No. E-5), didn’t stop. Angered over this, Saritha stopped the bus when it returned and staged a sit-in protest.She got into a heated argument with the driver, Venkatesh, saying that she could not appear for work on time because he had not stopped the bus. "The driver would not stop the bus if only one person is waiting at the stop," Saritha alleged. Her protest affected traffic on the Pallipalayam- Phatharai Road.The Pallipalayam police rushed to the spot and pacified the woman. A TNSTC official said drivers were instructed to stop the bus even when a single passenger signalled to stop it. "We initiated a departmental inquiry," the official said.