All roads led to a packed Saroornagar Indoor Stadium for the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation Joint Action Committee’s ‘Sakala Janula Samara Bheri’ on Wednesday, with thousands converging at the venue to be a part of the agitation.
TSRTC employees and their supporters arrived from all the districts with families in tow. Several even arrived in lorries, some raising slogans en route against Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. The massive crowd caused traffic snarls along the L B Nagar main road.
The steady trickle of employees and their families began much before the event which was scheduled for 3 p.m. Near the Saroornagar stadium there were scenes of defiance with the protesters holding signs decrying the partial privatisation of the transport juggernaut as ‘illegal’. On the other hand, the pavements resonated with tunes glorifying the TSRTC and the industriousness of its employees.
“I am here with my daughter. Our family has suffered a lot because of what the government has done. So many have died because of this. We are here and we are doing whatever we can to bring attention to our issues peacefully,” said N Vijaya, wife of a conductor.
Around 3 p.m., the stadium, with a capacity of 7,000, was bursting at the seams. Hundreds waited outside to enter the stadium but were unable to do so. While the staff expected 5,000 to arrive, unofficial estimates pegged the attendance to over 10,000, including those listening to passionate speeches coming out from speakers placed outside the stadium. Supporters and workers of Congress, Telangana Jana Samithi, Left parties and others too arrived at the scene.
Security was beefed up both inside and outside the Saroornagar Indoor Stadium as police in uniform and in mufti kept a close watch on the proceedings of Sakala Jana Bheri, its participants and speakers.
The TSRTC JAC, comprising Ashwathama Reddy, K Raji Reddy, V S Rao, Thomas Reddy and O Sudha and others, took to the stage and introduced a galaxy of speakers from several political parties. Each speaker was cheered on as he or she criticised the government and rallied behind the striking employees and their demands.
The TSTRC JAC said that there were 14 deaths leading to a few sombre moments of silence. The public meeting concluded with TSRTC JAC convener Ashwathama Reddy urging the staff and their families to remain steadfast in their support to the strike, and encouraging them to fight for their rights.
