A day after an employee was suspended for uploading a video showing the poor maintenance of buses in the state, the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) revoked his suspension on Tuesday. The TNSTC, vide an order dated October 8, said Vijayakumar’s temporary suspension has been revoked and ordered him to report to work from Tuesday.
Vijayakumar was suspended on Monday for ‘making derogatory remarks against TNSTC on WhatsApp’ while operating the bus. The action came after a video of him speaking about the poor condition of the buses went viral on social media.
In the video, he is seen saying that he had driven from Trichy to Palani while it was raining and the rainwater seeping through the window caused him a lot of discomforts while driving. Alleging that nobody in the department paid attention to these issues, he also adds that in most buses, the brakes are non-functional and that the absence of window shutters cause discomfort to the drivers, obstructing their work.
Vijayakumar had earlier told TNM that he records the faults of the buses that he drives in the log sheet after every trip and that it was never taken into account. He also questioned how it was fair to penalise someone for talking while driving since it is common that drivers talk to avoid dozing off while driving. He also said that four years ago, TNSTC had withheld his increment allegedly because he refused to operate a faulty bus.
Speaking to TNM on Tuesday after receiving the order revoking his suspension, he said he was happy that he is back at work. “It feels happy to be back and to see that TNSTC thinks that they did mistake by suspending me. I hope they attend to the complaints too,” he said. He also expressed his gratitude to everybody who stood by him.