Save TSRTC to help the poor

That the ongoing strike by TSRTC workers reached 20th day and there is no end in sight is saddening. The strike caused immense difficulties to the public especially to the poor who cannot afford alternative means of transport.

For a long time, the TSRTC has been caught in a cycle of losses and one wonders whether its management took proper steps all these years to push the corporation into the profit zone. Any company that needs bail-out packages regularly is unsustainable. The induction of private buses may provide temporary relief, but it will make life harder for the poor in the long run.

Whether the poor can afford their fares will be of the least concern to the private bus owners as they focus solely on maximising the profits. If the TSRTC becomes fully private-owned, will the govt ensure that the bus fares do not go out of reach of the poor? Or will the poor be left to the mercy of the greedy private owners?

-N Venkata Sai Praveen, Manikonda, Hyderabad