Hanamkonda: TSRTC Tyre Retreading Shop shifting opposed

Efforts on to lease tyre shop land to private parties

​Hanamkonda: The TSRTC authorities’ decision to shift Tyre Retreading Shop (TRS) situated at Hunter Road in Hanamkonda to Karimnagar is evoking serious opposition from workers as well as political parties here.

The shop was set up here in 1995 to retread tyres with 120 workers like vulcanisers, shramiks and store attendants. It is meant to serve the needs of RTC depots in Warangal, Khammam and Nalgonda regions.

The TRS’s current staff strength now reduced to 48 owing to retirements and non-recruitment of staff. On average nearly 1,450 to 1,500 tyres are being retread here in a month as against the target of 1,600 tyres per month.

On January 19, 2017, RTC Deputy Chief Personnel Manager has sent a letter to the Assistant Mechanical Engineer (Tyres) in Warangal proposing not to operate the TRS Warangal with effect from April 1, 2017.

He suggested accommodating the workers in other units of the corporation. The reasons behind the move are stated as follows, man power has become idle in view of fall in demand for retreading of tyres and the retreading shop has become financially unviable.

Following which TRS Warangal Joint Action Committee started protests contesting the decision to close the unit and found fault with the reasons stated for the close of the unit.

‘This is unilateral decision and put workers to severe hardships as many of them have settled here. On the other hand the product efficiency level (PEL) of the unit is very good at 90 and the unit has won awards for being the best tyre retreading shop,’ said the JAC convener M Suresh.

The RTC authorities have stopped supplying raw material and tyres from Hyderabad depots for retreading here. It is being planned to shift the workers to tyre retreading shop in Karimnagar where there are only 17 workers.

The authorities should merge the Karimnagar unit in TRS Warangal instead of displacing 48 workers here and also make efforts to make the unit here viable; Suresh suggested speaking to The Hans India.

Warangal is centrally located and it would be easier for depots in Khammam and Nalgonda regions in terms of availing the finished product, argued the JAC leaders B Bhasker, S Kumaraswamy and P Nageshwar Rao.

“We have made representations to Assembly speaker, Deputy CM, Transport Minister, TSRTC Chairman and its MD, MLAs and MLAs including the local municipal councillor seeking to stop the closure of the TRS Warangal and still there is no positive response from the RTC authorities,” they complained.

Meanwhile, BJP Urban district president Rao Padma, Congress district president N Rajender Reddy and city Congress working president Rajanala Srihari and BC-JAC extended solidarity to the workers and demanded RTC management to withdraw its decision to close the retreading shop here.

“Instead of setting new industries here the government is shifting existing ones to other places” lamented BC-JAC state chairman Tirunahari Sheshu.

“It is learnt that the TRS bosses planned to lease 4.5 acres land of the TRS worth several crores of rupees to private persons and such a move would seriously be opposed,’ he cautioned.

The State government has already shifted the office of Regional Director (Medical and Health) located in Warangal to Hyderabad. Now it wants to shift the retreading shop. How could this type of actions help development of the city, posed Congress leader Srihari.