Telangana transport strike enters Day 4

The indefinite strike by unions of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) continued for the fourth day on Tuesday even as chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao termed the agitating staff as being “self-dismissed”.

With nearly 50,000 employees boycotting duties and state-run buses staying off roads, commuters faced problems, though the RTC said it has taken measures to ensure that passengers’ needs are fulfilled and around 11,000 vehicles, including buses, were being operated.

The RTC said it was constantly reviewing and monitoring the situation. Different employees and workers unions of TSRTC began an indefinite strike on October 5 across Telangana on a call given by the Joint Action Committee of TSRTC, demanding merger of the RTC with the government, recruitment to various posts,among others.

Taking a tough stand on the strike, the Chief Minister had also made it clear that the RTC will not be merged into the government.

According to an official release, after a review meeting on Monday,KCR, as the Chief Minister is referred to, had said: “There are only 1,200 RTC employees. Nobody dismissed anybody. They all left by themselves.”

KCR had also asked the DGP to form special teams to prevent RTC employees who had left from creating disturbances at bus depots or bus stations.

However, Telangana Mazdoor Union president E Ashwathama Reddy said the government’s decision to sack agitating employees, would be challenged as and when they are served with dismissal notices.

KCR also made it clear that the state government has no interest in totally privatising the RTC and the RTC as an organisation would definitely stay.

He said it was aim of the government to see to it that people should not be subjected to inconvenience and hence the government was making all measures to strengthen the RTC and make it profitable.

BJP Telangana chief spokesperson K Krishna Saagar Rao in a release said the party “believes there’s a well thought-out plan behind the brazenness of dismissing 48,000 employees of RTC byKCR.”