New Delhi: Bus conductors who lost their jobs because of the DIMTS-to-DTC transition and unemployed bus marshals emerged as some of the most visible participants at AAP’s gathering at Jantar Mantar on Sunday.They highlighted job losses and prolonged uncertainty following administrative changes in Delhi’s public transport system, with many demanding reinstatement or absorption into govt services, saying their contractual roles had been abruptly discontinued. While addressing the gathering, Arvind Kejriwal acknowledged this section of the crowd, gesturing and waving towards it. Jagbir, who was a bus conductor on route no. 73, said thousands of families have been affected by the transition. “Around 650 people are in attendance today, but overall, more than 10,000 have been impacted. We were promised that we would be given permanent positions. Even today, our only demand is that we should be reinstated,” he said.For many of them, Sunday’s “protest” reflected an unresolved uncertainty. Prem Jeet, who claimed to be their representative, questioned political assurances made in the past. “Where have the promises gone? If we couldn’t be made permanent, then why were we given the assurance? Nothing’s happened so far. We want to be reinstated or given permanent jobs,” he said.Former civil defence volunteers who used to serve as bus marshals also voiced their frustration. One of them said, “We were told civil defence personnel are required only during emergencies, but even today, many of them are posted in several govt departments. Why were some removed while others continue to work?”Others described how operational changes left them without any work. Vishal, a former bus conductor, claimed drivers were re-absorbed, but conductors left out. “Thousands lost jobs after DTC took over. We were told the company was only changing, but everything changed for us,” he said. Babu Ram, another worker associated with bus operations, echoed similar concerns. “As we were working within a govt system, we should not have been laid off,” he said.Their grievance originates from a policy conflict that arose after thousands of civil defence volunteers deployed as bus marshals on DTC and cluster buses lost their positions when authorities questioned the legality of using them for routine transport duties rather than emergency response work. Their payments were halted and deployments discontinued, sparking a prolonged political tussle, with those affected repeatedly staging protests seeking their reinstatement.Also, conductors employed under Delhi’s cluster bus system, earlier operated through Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS), face growing uncertainty as services were gradually integrated into the DTC fold. Many hired through private operators on contractual terms were not absorbed into the permanent workforce when their contracts expired or service models changed. Worker groups argue that despite performing duties similar to regular staffers for years, neither were their services regularised nor were they redeployed.
