VISAKHAPATNAM:On a day when they are normally engaged in examination preparations, thousands of students, who are appearing for EAMCET-2015 Friday, were subjected to anxious moments as the RTC staff on strike were reluctant to return to work Thursday.
The RTC strike turned out to be the biggest hurdle for students and their parents ahead of the crucial examination, which has over 35,000 students appearing in north Coastal Andhra region.
The RTC bus services continued to be affected across Andhra Pradesh for the second consecutive day Thursday following the indefinite strike by recognised staff unions. The authorities, who are making hectic efforts to resume services, claimed to have succeeded in running about 30 per cent of the buses in Andhra Pradesh. However, the representatives of recognised unions rubbished the statement saying that less than 2,500 buses against 28,000 in both the Telugu states were operated Thursday.
The RTC management deployed retired RTC staff, heavy vehicle drivers from other departments like police and fire services and also private persons with heavy vehicle licenses on a daily-wage basis for `1,000 per day. The officials of education, revenue and police departments persuaded the private and educational institutions to lend their vehicles along with the staff to ease the passenger rush.
Private educational institutions, particularly engineering colleges like Avanthi College of Engineering and Technology and Raghu Engineering College, offered to run special services for the convenience of students appearing for the exams in their colleges.
Meanwhile, students along with their parents made advanced plans to reach the test centres a day before the exam date. In all, over 35,000 candidates including 23,293 students in Visakhapatnam district are expected to appear for EAMCET in north Coastal Andhra region.
“My son, who pursued his Intermediate in Visakhapatnam, chose the city as the exam centre for EAMCET, which will commence at 10 am. Though we could have arrived here on Friday morning, we had to travel on my two-wheeler from Nellimarla Thursday itself in the wake of the RTC strike,” said K Vasudeva Rao, a resident of Nellimarla in Vizianagaram district.
With the government making all out efforts to ensure that students appearing for EAMCET do not have any problem, general passengers are likely to face further trouble Friday.
Meanwhile, unruly incidents were witnessed when buses operated in the region with many passengers complaining that the temporary employees were charging double the regular fares. Many passengers had arguments with the temporary staff on the RTC buses.
“The regular fare from Srikakulam to Ranasthalam is `30, but the conductor charged `60. When I questioned him, we entered into a heated argument and I had to cough up the amount, as I had no option,” fumed Ramana, a passenger who boarded the RTC bus from Srikakulam to Ranasthalam Thursday noon.
Further, the private vehicle operators have been fleecing passengers since Wednesday in the wake of the RTC strike.
However, the RTC regional managers in north Coastal Andhra, who are under pressure from the higher authorities for operating more buses, feigned ignorance. They claimed that they did not receive such complaints and assured to take action if the passengers complain.
Anticipating trouble from the RTC staff on strike, the police department has deployed at least two police personnel each on all the buses operated Thursday.
The arrangement will be continued until the strike is called off, the police said. Efforts are being made by the RTC management to run at least 40 per cent of the buses on Friday.
Exam Timings
Engineering - 10 am to 1 pm
Agriculture & Medicine - 2.30 to 5.30 pm