Govt. employees strike work; RTC, private buses go off the road

August 13, 2013 01:05 pm | Updated November 17, 2021 12:16 pm IST - VIJAYAWADA

Various departments in state Secretariat wear deserted on the first day of their indefinite strike called by Andhra Pradesh Non-Gazetted Officers’ Association against proposed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in Hyderabad on Tuesday. Photo: Mohammed Yousuf

Various departments in state Secretariat wear deserted on the first day of their indefinite strike called by Andhra Pradesh Non-Gazetted Officers’ Association against proposed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in Hyderabad on Tuesday. Photo: Mohammed Yousuf

Normal life was paralysed in Central Coastal Andhra Pradesh owing to the indefinite strike call given by Andhra Pradesh Non-Gazetted Officers (APNGOs) and the APSRTC employees from the early hours of Tuesday.

This turned out to be a virtual bandh call, as all RTC and private buses were off the road; shops and establishments were closed. Small and medium entrepreneurs in the Autonagar and Industrial Estate, restaurants and even small kiosks downed their shutters in support of Samaikyandhra.

Schools and some colleges declared a holiday on Tuesday. The busy Bandar and Eluru Road, which otherwise bustle with activities and shoppers, wore a deserted look at 11 a.m. The only people on the roads were security strike forces in their camouflaged overalls and the members of different joint action committees (JAC) who took out rallies in protest against the Congress Working Committee’s decision to bifurcate the State. The APNGOs took out a rally from PWD grounds and went on a Government Offices closing spree from 10.30 a.m.

Private vehicles were allowed to run and autorickshaws were seen plying.In some pockets, the transport system was virtually paralysed with the state-owned transport major APSRTC employees joining the strike.

“Our college actually wanted to function, but since APSRTC has joined the strike, the management declared a holiday,” said Ch. Avinash, a second-year B.Tech. student.

A senior citizen who was waiting for a public transport system at Benz Circle to go to his daughter’s house at Gandhinagar, remarked, “It is good that people are protesting against the bifurcation of the State. It’s expected of concerned citizens. But, what I see is that the agitation of ‘Samaikyanhdra Andhra’ (Unified Andhra) lacks ‘Samaikyam’ (unity). For the last one hour I have seen at least six JACs taking out rallies comprising of 150 to 200 members. Can’t they join together to form one big impactful group, the way TRS does.”

Machilipatnam Staff Reporter, T. Appala Naidu adds:

Vociferous protests were witnessed on Tuesday, amid tight security, on the streets of Krishna District headquarters town Machilipatnam against proposed carving out of Telangana. Mammoth gathering of protesters led by lawyers, merchants, political leaders and Government employees/workers spread the bandh to every nook and corner of the town.

Streets wore a deserted look as people from all walks of public life turned up at the Koneru Centre. A few women, largely rural folk supported the scheduled 24-hour bandh by engaging themselves in preparation of food on the roads as a part of their ‘Vanta-Vaarpu’ agitation.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.