Auto, cab drivers endorse RTC stir

Khairatabad: As the TSRTC strike entered its 11th day on Tuesday, with no sign of any solution, many union leaders backed the RTC employees in their support.

They staged protest at the Khairatabad transport Bhavan in order to support the employees and organized a one-day dharna on Tuesday. The leaders and members of auto drivers union, along with other unions of cab, trucks, mini trucks, and lorries participated in the dharna.

Over 150 members of the unions participated in the protest. They held the Chief Minister responsible for the deaths of two TSRTC employees, Srinivas Reddy and conductor B Surender Goud, who committed suicide on Sunday.

The employees of the Khairatabad depot, along with B Venkatesham, Md Amanullah Khan, leaders of Telangana State Auto drivers' Joint Action Committee (TSADJAC) Sallauddin Shakh, V Kiran, Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) union Rajender Reddy, Lorry JAC leader and others paid their respects to the deceased employees.

They demanded that the government support their families financially and also fulfil their demands. B Venkatesham, during the protest, questioned that if the RTC is operating at a loss, then why the government is hiring private employees and buses by spending Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500 per worker every day.

"The government is spending an amount of Rs 1,000 to 1,500 for each private worker hired for services, and the brunt of which is being faced by passengers, who are forced to spend more amount in ticket prices," he added.