MAHABUBABAD: AS the ongoing TSRTC strike entered its 40th day, a driver from the Mahabubabad depot committed suicide by consuming pesticides on Wednesday.
Early morning on Wednesday, 45-year-old Naresh, who had completed nearly 15 years of service as an RTC bus driver, was found lying unconscious at his home.
Two suicide notes were found next to him. He was immediately rushed to the Area Hospital but breathed his last on the way.
In his suicide notes, Naresh held Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao responsible for his death. He also expressed hope that with his death, the ongoing strike would get a new life.
“For the last two months, the RTC employees have not received salaries and their families are facing a severe financial crisis. The employees are worried about their families. The State government needs to open its eyes to the issue,” read the suicide note.
Naresh’s wife Poolamma has been bedridden for the last three years.
Her treatment and medicines cost the family Rs 5,000 every month, Naresh’s colleagues told Express.
Naresh was the only earning member of his family as his two graduate sons are unemployed and still looking for a job, they added.
“Two festivals passed this year and I could not purchase new clothes for my children. We are struggling to even purchase groceries. I had high hopes from the High Court, but the State government’s decisions disheartened me,” read the suicide note.
Tension at Mahabubabad depot
Soon after the news of Naresh’s death broke, other RTC employees along with leaders of opposition parties reached the Area Hospital and took out a rally with his body, till the Mahabubabad depot. At the depot, a huge contingent of police was deployed and barricades were setup to prevent the protesters from entering the depot.
Meanwhile, the rally reached the spot with the protesters raising slogans against the State government.
The body was placed before the depot as the workers refused to conduct his last rites until the government announced ex-gratia for Naresh’s family.
When the police tried to shift the workers, they refused and several workers were forcefully put into police vans and taken to the Mahabubabad police station.
It was only after the district Joint Collector, M David, reached the spot and assured Rs 7 lakh ex-gratia and a 2BHK house for the deceased’s family, that the workers ended their protest. Mahabubabad SP N Koti Reddy said, “We have recovered the suicide notes and are scrutinising them for facts. The body has been shifted to Naresh’s native village of Yellampet village under Maripeda mandal for the final rites.”