Bandh cripples life in Karimnagar

Karimnagar: The State-wide bandh call given by the striking RTC employees was successful in the undivided Karimnagar district on Saturday. Extending support to the bandh, petrol bunks, cinema theaters, hotels, shopping malls and business centres remained closed voluntarily.

It is to be noted that the different employees and workers unions of TSRTC wend on the indefinite strike from October 5 across district on a call given by the RTC Joint Action Committee demanding the government to solve their issues along with merging the corporation into the government.

But the TRS government ruled out conceding their demands and announced them as self-dismissed with which the RTC employees intensified the strike by garnering support from various sections of people. The bandh took emotional turn with the suicide of two RTC workers recently.

The RTC employees, along with the leaders of various peoples unions and opposition parties, right from early morning on Saturday staged dharnas in front of all the ten bus depots in the undivided Karimnagar district.

The dharna which was staged in front of the Karimnagar bus depot-I led to a mild tension with the participating of leaders several of opposition parties and student unions. The members of ABVP climbed on to the bus station complex and raised slogans against the government. Police tried hard to make them come down and later arrested them.

The Left parties' leaders tried to burn the CM's effigy. Police also arrested them. Former MLA of Choppadandi Bodiga Shoba along with BJP leaders staged rasta rocko for about 3 hours in front of the bus station. The TPCC leader Komatireddy Venkat Reddy in support to RTC bandh took out bike rally along with the leaders of the Congress party. TDP district leader K Agaiah participated in the dharna along with PDSU, SFI, TJS and Jana Sena party members.

Speaking on the occasion, the RTC-JAC leaders alleged that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao is trying to sell the RTC lands and also trying to privatise the corporation. There is no loss to RTC due to the employees. If the government repays all the RTC dues besides suspending all the taxes, it will earn more profits.