The police in Adilabad, Nirmal and Kumram Bheem Asifabad districts arrested protesters belonging to TSRTC near respective bus stations and bus depots as they tried to stop buses coming out of the stations on Saturday. The move on the part of the striking RTC trade unions was part of the protest staged on the 43rd day of the strike.
Police had imposed prohibitory orders in order to avoid any unpleasant incident occurring due to the bus roko call given by the striking trade unions. They arrested those of the workers and employees who tried to gate crash into the bus stations to prevent buses from plying on respective routes.
The arrests were made in Adilabad, Nirmal, Bhainsa and Asifabad depots under Adilabad TSRTC Region. Mancherial district, however, remained calm as no protest was staged.
Slogans raised
In Sangareddy, demanding that the government commence discussions with striking employees, the RTC employees held rasta roko in front of the bus depot. They raised slogans against Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, stating that despite the unions climbing down from the demand of merger, the government has not been responding.
“Several employees have died and some had committed suicide due to the attitude of Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao. Even after so many deaths, he has been not responding,” said one of the agitating employees.
Police sent them away from the spot.
At Medak, police have arrested RTC JAC leaders and CPI(M) leaders and shifted them to police station. Some of the employees cordoned off the depot in district headquarters but they were removed by police.
In the wake of the call given by the RTC JAC and their supporters to prevent buses from coming out of the depots as part of their State wide agitation which entered 43rd day on Saturday, the police resorted to house arrests and preventive custody of the leaders in Nizamabad.
V. Prabhakar, A. Papaiah and B. Devaram CPI (ML-New Democracy) were detained at their houses while M. Bhaskar (TJAC), Omaiah (AITUC), Ramesh, Noorjahan and S. Latha (CPM), D. Venkat (BLF), PDSU leaders Anil, Yellaiah and Venkatesh were arrested and shifted to different police stations. Some others were detained in their houses. In Bodhan Left party leaders Gangadharappa, Shankar Goud, Gangadhar Babu and Varadaiah were taken into custody.
Arrests were also made elsewhere in the district and Kamareddy district. Meanwhile, the relay hunger strike of striking RTC workers and their families entered the 13th day on Saturday.
