AITUC Protests at Tirupati Against Proposed Privatisation of 12 RTC Depots

Tirupati: Members of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) staged a protest at the Mangalam RTC bus depot in Tirupati on Wednesday opposing the state government’s reported move to privatise 12 depots of the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC). The demonstration was organised by the AITUC Tirupati city committee in response to the orders directing that buses currently operated from the identified depots be shifted and the premises vacated by February 25. Union leaders alleged that the decision would hand over valuable RTC assets to private companies and weaken the public transport corporation. Addressing the protesters, AITUC district general secretary K. Radhakrishna and city general secretary N.D. Ravi said the government was attempting to transfer RTC lands worth about Rs 6,000 crore to private entities under the pretext of new e-bus operations. They alleged that the move was part of a plan to dilute the state-run transport system and warned that the union would launch state-wide agitations until the decision was withdrawn. They said APSRTC, which employs nearly 50,000 people, depended on bus stations and depots located in prime urban areas across the state. The proposed privatisation of depots in Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Rajamahendravaram, Vijayawada, Guntur, Nellore, Tirupati, Kadapa, Kurnool and Anantapur would amount to transferring around 120 acres of high-value land to private firms, they alleged. According to the union, the market value of these lands ranged between Rs 25 crore and Rs150 crore per acre. The leaders also criticised the earlier allocation of RTC land in Vijayawada to a private group and said the latest decision would break the backbone of the corporation. They called upon RTC employees and the public to unite against the move and prepare for protests.