HYDERABAD: The then APSRTC employees, belonging to the Telangana region, were the only employees from the transport sector, to respond to the call of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) and join the statehood movement full-throttle. Over 57,000 employees were on strike for 27 days from September 19 to October 17, 2011.
At that point in time, the corporation had a workforce of 1.16 lakh. The slogan of the protesting employees was ‘Telangana nahi toh RTC ka paiyya hilega nahin’ (if there is no Telangana, no RTC tyre will move).
Recalling those moments, Komirelly Rajireddy, JAC convener from RTC, said “All employees had the same spirit-we are ready to do anything to get our state. We took part in agitations like rail rokos, vanta varpu and non-cooperation. In order to realise statehood, all 57,000 employees were ready to sacrifice their jobs.”
He added, “A delegation, led by Prof. Kodandaram and KCR, went to Delhi to meet then prime minister Manmohan Singh. They also met BJP leader Sushma Swaraj and other important leaders to muster support for the cause. We all backed them to the fullest.”
Kamalakar Goud, the then APSRTC union secretary, said, “Our voice was strong as it was a collective one.
The goal was one and there could be no distraction, such was the obsession. During the 27-day strike, no Telangana employee cared about deductions in salary. We were on the streets, shouting and sloganeering. Around 10,000 of us from Hyderabad took part in the Millennium March.”
