Crest-fallen employees plead to resume duties

Hyderabad: Deep financial problems following the 52-day-old strike, RTC employees thronged the bus depots to re-join duty but they were prevented from entering the depots and taking up duties since the government is yet to take a decision.

This led to emotional scenes where women employees broke down before they were taken into custody by the police.

They pleaded with the police to let them enter the depots as their families were on road.

On the other hand, some male employees who were prevented by the police from entering the depots fell at their feet saying that they be allowed to go into the depot and resume work since their families as well as the RTC was suffering.

On the other hand, the lack of experience of private drivers hired on temporary basis by RTC continued to meet with accidents. On Tuesday, a young techie was run over by an RTC bus at Banjara Hills.

A women conductor Gautami, who came to Kukatpally depot, said that it has become difficult for her to manage finances.

"We could not celebrate two festivals as we did not get salary for September and now, we have to pay school fees of our children.

We are lower middle class... we have left our strike and want to join duties, but the management is not allowing us," she said amidst sobbing.

Another women conductor Lakshmi protested when police personnel did not allow her to enter the depot at Kukatpally.

"We have left our demands and decided to join duties only to save the corporation and ourselves. How far it is correct for the Chief Minister to harass the workers?

As a head of the family, the CM should forgive the workers. The officials have no right to stop us when we are coming to resume duties," she said.

Similar scenes were witnessed at Uppal depot where regular employees were not allowed to enter the depot. The temporary drivers and conductors who came to the duties said that they have sympathy towards the regular staff.

"We will not come if the management asks us not to. We are coming because we are getting Rs 1,000 per day. We don't know what the management will ask us to do," said a temporary employee.

RTC workers were taken into custody and shifted to police stations or at nearby function halls from 6 am. Police officials said that the depot manager had asked them not to allow the RTC staff and allow only the temporary staff.

The situation was tense at depots like Musheerabad-1, 2, 3, Ranigunj-1, 2 depots and Bus Bhavan, Kacheguda, Barkatpura, Dilsukhnagar, Hyderabad-1 and 2 depots, MGBS, Cantonment, JBS, Mehdipatnam, Falaknuma, Farooq Nagar and Midhani depots.

Mild tension prevailed at Barkatpura depot when a woman conductor Padmavathi fell down and lost consciousness for some time during the tussle between the police and employees.