An estimated 100 employees at different levels working in the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) have been literally on the road during working hours, since Friday, after they were denied entry into ‘Tourism House’, the corporation’s head office, by their counterparts from Telangana State TDC over a tussle for office space.
Their efforts to bank on a resolution of the corporation’s Board dated July 25, to divide resources and space in ratio of 58:42 between AP and Telangana did not bear fruit. Interestingly, those belonging to the TSTDC too have not been working at the headquarters since Friday when they barred the entry of their counterparts from AP.
When asked, TSTDC employees said the only thing affected at the head office because of the incident was file movement. Otherwise, work on project locations and operations at other destinations across the 10 districts of Telangana was proceeding as usual, they argued, adding that they were not going into their office only to ensure that their AP counterparts did not enter the building which they believed, should be allotted exclusively to Telangana.
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An officer of the rank of General Manager in the APTDC who did not want to be named said they were feeling like outcasts in their community after working together in the same building for so many years. “I respect their sentiment of a separate State but that need not stop them from looking at us with animosity,” he regretted.
When contacted, Special Chief Secretary (AP), Chandana Khan said AP Chief Secretary I.Y.R. Krishna Rao had written to his Telangana counterpart, Rajiv Sharma on the matter. “Personally, I feel both should work in the same building,” she said.
Managing Director, APTDC, K.S. Reddy said he believed that such discrimination was not expected. “After all, there is nothing that cannot be solved through discussion,” he said.
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