Hyderabad: Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) employees on strike on Wednesday threatened to “call a statewide bandh” if their demands were not met, as the strike entered its fifth day.
Medical services have been stopped for striking employees. On orders, RTC hospitals in the city are not admitting employees, especially those on strike, and their families. “This is even with ‘emergency cases’,” said a senior employee on strike.
TSRTC union leaders reiterated their stand at an all-party meeting.
“The Telangana government withheld our dues of Rs 2400 crore,” RTC joint action committee chairman Ashwathama Reddy said.
RTC JAC chairman Ashwathama Reddy said, “Our provident fund contribution of Rs 2,000 crore has been used by the management. We demand it be released to our PF accounts and the pending dues be cleared.”
“We have four per cent tax on Aviation Turbine Fuel, 14 per cent on diesel for Railways and 27.25 per cent on diesel for RTC,” Mr Reddy said. “Does it make any sense? We demand that tax anomalies go.”
The statewide bandh will be decided after a meeting with Governor Tamilisai Soundarar-ajan. “We have sought an appointment on Friday,” said a JAC member. “We’ll brief her about the injustice done to RTC employees. We request the people of Telangana as well as the opposition parties to support our agitation to protect the TSRTC.”
Both the Congress and the BJP have extended their support.
