95% TSRTC fleet off roads on Telangana’s first major state-wide bandh

The worst-hit district, which possibly saw the greatest impact of the strike, was Khammam, where only five buses managed to run on Saturday.
TSRTC bus stands at road on TSRTC bandh (Photo |EPS)
TSRTC bus stands at road on TSRTC bandh (Photo |EPS)

HYDERABAD: A skeletal 516 of the TSRTC’s fleet of nearly 9,000 buses plied the roads on Telangana’s first major state-wide bandh on Saturday, called for by the opposition parties and the striking employees as part of the ongoing TSRTC strike. 

The bandh marked Day 15 of the state-wide strike which had begun on October 5. Until Day 14, the TSRTC was able to deploy an average of 6,000 buses per day, however, the number fell to a mere 516 on Saturday. It may be noted that the TSRTC has the capability to deploy over 8,949 buses on a normal day.
According to official figures, merely 5.77 per cent of the TSRTC fleet was operated on Saturday, owing largely to a no-show by TSRTC’s privately hired buses, which are 2,100 in number. Of these, only three privately hired buses plied in Karimnagar. The rest of the 513 buses which plied the State roads, were owned by the TSRTC and were driven by private drivers and conductors. 

Khammam worst-hit by strike
The worst-hit district, which possibly saw the greatest impact of the strike, was Khammam, where only five buses managed to run on Saturday. As a precautionary measure, the police had arrested RTC union leaders and other opposition party leaders on Friday night. Meanwhile, unions of the cab and auto-rickshaw drivers supported the bandh and cancelled all their trips. Locals and traders also came forward voluntarily and closed their shops in the towns as well as the Mandal headquarters. 

Shockingly, Hyderabad, which had been receiving a low bus turnout throughout the fortnight of the strike saw 101 buses ply the city roads, the second-highest in the State after Siddipet, where 102 buses were operated.

The low turnout could be attributed to the instances of violence to which the private drivers and conductors were subjected by the protesting TSRTC employees. Incidents of private persons being obstructed from entering the bus depots stopped midway during a bus trip, and even being manhandled by the RTC employees were reported. 

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The New Indian Express
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