Iconic mode of struggle for Telangana : Vanta Vaarpu

Hyderabad: With no sign of any compromise between the government and over 48,000 TRSTRC employees on the ongoing RTC strike, the employees on Sunday gave vent to their ire by resorting to 'Vanta Vaarpu', a mode of protest which was popular during the agitation for separate Telangana.

The employees and their families took up cooking at bus depots across the state even as the police personnel kept an eye on the programmes not allowing them to enter depot premises.

There were reports of Vanta Vaarpu programmes held on a large-scale at places like Warangal, Jangaon, Parigi, Nalgonda, Karimnagar and other places. The Hyderabad city has 29 depots and the Vanta Vaarpu programme was carried out in most of these depots as the workers actively took part in it.

However, RTC union leaders said the staff of some of the depots could not take part in the programme because of the death of the RTC driver Srinivas Reddy. The workers raised slogans against the government and the Chief Minister for not holding talks with them.

Outside the Uppal depot in the city, the police was present in large numbers and prevented the striking employees from entering the depot.

Uppal depot is the zonal office for five districts. The employees and their family members, including kids, organised Vanta Vaarpu near the depot. They cooked rice, dal, potato curry and shared with the members of other associations who had come to express their solidarity.

Similar programmes were held in depots like Kacheguda, Hakimpet, Ranigunj, Kukatpally and other places. The union leaders said that the officials did not permit the staff in Hyderabad but gave permission in Secunderabad. Vanta Vaarpu was held at Ranigunj bus depot.

Meanwhile, TMU leader A Ramakrishna Reddy criticised the Chief Minister for declaring that the employees were self-dismissed. He said that they would intensify the agitation and seek support of all sections of Telangana.

"KCR promised us salaries on par with the government employees but the wage agreement with the workers was not implemented even after two years," he said.

Interestingly, Osmania University students took up Vanta Vaarpu on the university premises expressing solidarity with the RTC workers involved in the Strike.