RTC buses go off the roads in Telangana as employees begin strike

Hyderabad, April 22 (IANS) Public road transport services in Telangana came to a grinding halt on Wednesday as employees of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) began their indefinite strike in support of their demands.

TGSRTC buses went off the roads across the state since midnight as the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of employees’ unions decided to go ahead with the strike following the failure of talks with the state government.

With the RTC buses remaining confined to all 90 depots, commuters faced severe hardships across the state, including the capital Hyderabad. At many places, commuters were seen hiring private vehicles to reach their destinations.

Striking employees staged a protest outside the depots, demanding that the government resolve their long-pending demands. Police tightened security at the depots to prevent any untoward incident.

At a few places, TGSRTC was operating electric buses with the help of contract employees.

TGSRTC operates about 9,500 buses, including 2,500 hired buses and over 1,000 electric buses. About 25 lakh people travel by RTC buses across the state every day.

Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS) in Hyderabad, the biggest bus station in the state, wore a deserted look. A similar situation prevailed at Jubilee Bus Station (JBS) in Secunderabad and other bus stations in the state capital and all other districts.

TGSRTC Managing Director Nagi Reddy has appealed to the employees to return to work. He stated that the government is ready to resolve its demands in a phased manner.

He alleged that a few unions were misleading the employees. The MD said the government constituted a committee of IAS officers to address the demands.

The talks held Tuesday night between the JAC and the committee failed to resolve the deadlock.

The committee sought four weeks to resolve the demands. JAC leaders said their demands are not new. They made it clear that they will continue the strike till their 32 demands are resolved.

JAC chairman Eeduru Venkanna told media persons that all unions have extended their support to the strike call.

Merging TGSRTC with the government is the main demand of the JAC. The RTC JAC Chairman asserted that the government ignored the issue of merger even after explicitly including it in its election manifesto.

He said that the government constituted a committee as a delaying tactic. He recalled that the JAC served the strike notice 41 days ago.

Venkanna stated that they are compelled to resort to a strike due to unavoidable circumstances. He alleged that, under the pretext of introducing electric buses, attempts are being made to transfer employees currently stationed at Hyderabad depots to the districts.

--IANS