Bandh complete in Mahbubnagar

Mahbubnagar: The 'bandh' by state RTC Joint Action Committee (JAC) leaders was successfully observed across erstwhile Mahbubnagar on Saturday.

As the bandh was observed completely across all the 14 constituencies and 9 bus depot limits in Mahbubnagar, Wanaparthy, Gadwal, Narayanpet and Nagarkurnool districts, the RTC employees and JAC leaders from their respective districts staged protest in front of bus-depots from early morning at 5 'o' clock on wards and did not allow the RTC buses to come out of the RTC depots.

The government deployed police personnel at all the RTC depots who took the Key JAC leaders under preventive detention in order to avoid any disruption to the public transportation.

The RTC employees who were supported by all party leaders, auto unions, lawyers unions, students unions, labour unions, teachers unions and outsource employees unions could succeed in stopping the RTC buses from coming out of the bus depots and completedly stalled the road transportation facilities across erstwhile Mahbubnagar.

There are 9 bus depots that ply more than 800 RTC buses on a regular basis. But during the past 15 days during the strike period, the RTC is running 400-500 buses with temporary conductors and drivers. However on Saturday, not even a single bus was seen plying on the road, because of which the public faced a lot of inconvenient in rural areas.

In Gadwal, Wanaparthy and Narayanpet districts, though the RTC authorities with the support of police tried to run a few buses, however, their attempts were foiled by the striking RTC employees and all party members, and various other association leaders who took part in the bandh voluntarily and supporting the cause of RTC employees.

As part of the bandh, majority of shops, hotels and various business installations were kept shut in Mahbubnagar, Wanaparthy, Gadwal and Nagarkurnool districts. In Mahbubnagar, the CPI, CPM, New democracy parties leaders who staged protest in front of RTC depot were arrested by the police and were shifted to Koilkonda police station.

While speaking on the occasion CPI district secretary Paramesh Goud said, "The KCR government is adopting suppressive methods and is behaving insensitively to the RTC employees' cause.

Despite the High Court direction, the government; the Chief Minister is not budging. This kind of attitude of a CM is sending wrong signals to the public and very soon KCR will be taught a lesson by the people, if he does not heed to the just demands of the RTC employees."