If bifurcation of the State is allowed, survival of AP State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) will be in jeopardy, warned Krishna district APNGOs Joint Action Committee (JAC) chairman A. Vidya Sagar, on Wednesday.
Addressing a ‘Save APSRTC’ sadassu, attended by scores of RTC employees and workers in the region, Mr. Sagar acknowledged the crucial role played by them in the ‘Samaikyandhra’ agitation. “The ‘Samaikyandhra’ ratham (chariot) is moving ahead in the right direction with great confidence. While the APNGOs and the several other organisations are horses hitched side-by-side drawing the chariot in the forward direction, APSRTC employees are the wheels that lend power to the movement,” he said amid applause.
Not viable
“There is no economic viability in the UPA proposal to split the State. Survival of the RTC will be in jeopardy as the government is indifferent to the deluge of problems that will entail the division. This is the time to act lest we will be left in the lurch,” he said.
“This is a historic moment and history does not give everybody a chance to play a role in it. Grab the opportunity and do your bit to save Andhra Pradesh,” he told the impressive crowd.
He said that one cannot be expected to be generous beyond a point. “We have lost important regions to the neighbouring States in the past due to our generosity. If Telangana people want a separate State, let them carve out their own new State and develop it. Why should we be made to start afresh?” he asserted.
Pointing to the fact that all higher educational institutions were located in Hyderabad, he said in the event of bifurcation, “our kids will have to vie for the limited few seats available in the 15 per cent quota meant for other State students.”
Referring to the proposal to make Hyderabad the joint capital, Mr. Sagar said that it was far from practical. He said farmers would be the worst hit as division would transform the Krishna delta into a barren area. “History is witness to the fact that civilisations have developed on river banks. Availability of water is prerequisite to development in other areas.” He said keeping in view the employees financial woes in the absence of salaries, local bank authorities had been persuaded to grant loans to the workers for the ensuing festival. State, zonal and district-level leaders of RTC employees unions and others were present.
