A distressed woman conductor of the Telangana State Road Transport Corportaion (TSRTC)’s Sattupalli depot allegedly ended her life at their rented house here in the wee hours of Monday on the 24th day of the indefinite strike by the RTC employees.
The tragic incident left the family of the lady conductor in unfathomable agony and sparked a wave of protests by the agitating RTC staff, who took to the streets, across the district, holding the State government squarely responsible for the incident.
The deceased, identified as 31-year-old B. Neeraja, took the extreme step ostensibly worried about the fate of the 48,000 striking RTC staff and the looming spectre of job loss, sources close to her family said. However, the police are yet to establish the exact motive behind her “drastic step.” The incident comes a fortnight after two RTC employees, including D. Srinivas Reddy, a driver of Khammam bus depot, and Surender Goud, a conductor of Ranigunj depot in Secunderabad, allegedly ended their lives in separate incidents earlier this month.
Alone at home
Tragedy struck the family of the woman conductor a day after Deepavali, the festival of lights, snatching away the main breadwinner of the impoverished family. Ms. Neeraja reportedly resorted to the extreme step in the small hours of the day, when her husband Rajasekhar, a worker in a local granite factory, and two children — nine-year-old Pujitha, and six-year-old Vishal — were away in their native village in Nelakondapalli mandal.
Emotions ran high when the grieving family members, relatives and the striking RTC employees hit the street carrying the body of the deceased towards Collectorate demanding justice to the bereaved family, amid heart rending scenes.
Commotion prevailed when the police prevented the demonstrators from carrying the body into the Collectorate. In the melee, the police and some of the demonstrators jostled each other. The demonstrators relented only after the higher officials concerned intervened and persuaded them by giving a slew of assurances. The officials agreed to ensure ₹ 7.50 lakh ex-gratia, a government job to the husband of the deceased as per the eligibility criteria, two bedroom house and three-acre land to the bereaved family.
Conductor dies
Meanwhile in Siddipet, Lata Maheswari, a conductor, died while watching television on Monday. She was native of Gopalpur in Elkaturthi mandal and working with Husnabad RTC depot.
According to sources, she was on leave for the past six months and was worried about the ongoing strike and her future. While RTC employees blamed the adamant attitude of the government, police said that she had health problems and died of cardiac arrest.
(There is always someone to listen at: +914066202000 in case of any emotional break down at this Hyderabad-based suicide intervention centre, Roshni.)
