The Samaikhyandhra bandh in Krishna district on Wednesday hit the revenue of State-run Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC).
The RTC had to cancel 30 per cent of its services owing to rasta roko and other forms of protests staged in different places.
In terms of revenue loss, the RTC in the region mops up Rs.1.25 crore daily. “Out of this average revenue, we will lose between Rs.25 lakh and Rs.30 lakh due to today’s bandh,” RTC Regional Manager G. Sudesh Kumar told The Hindu on Wednesday.
He said that some services such as the Eluru-bound buses had to be suspended as these places witnessed intensified agitations by Samaikhyandhra protesters.
Protesters at some places squatted on road and prevented RTC buses from plying. Buses were stopped at busy junctions such as Eluru Road, near Pandit Nehru Bus Station, Police Control Room, Challapalli Bunglow, and Benz Circle.
News of the UPA government’s decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh spurred integrationists into an agitation mode.
“A Samaikhyandhra political Joint Action Committee (JAC) is the need of the hour. All student and employees’ associations must form a common platform and collectively execute a common programme of agitation. That is the only way to prevent bifurcation of the State,” said RTC Employees’ Union zonal secretary Y. Venkateswara Rao.
Mr. Rao said that soon after the UPA government’s announcement, the union leaders met and chalked out a common protest programme for employees of all 36 RTC depots in the zone, comprising Krishna, Guntur, and West Godavari districts.
“From Srikakulam to Anantapur, we have formulated a common action plan,” he said, adding that on Thursday the employees would sport black badges to register their protest against bifurcation move and on Friday a ‘Chalo Collectorate’ would be staged.
Meanwhile, leaders of the National Mazdoor Union in RTC held a gate meeting.
“The NMU is wedded to the cause of Samaikhyandhra. We will oppose tooth and nail the division move and, if need be, we will not hesitate to disrupt RTC services,” said NMU regional secretary R. Subba Rao.
