RTC bus services were paralysed under the six depot limits in the district on Thursday morning as a section of drivers and conductors struck work in response to the nation-wide one-day transport strike called by the Left-affiliated unions to protest against the proposed “Road Safety and Transport Bill”. However, all the bus services from the district resumed later in the day.
Over 100 RTC buses including 50 under Khammam depot, 30 in Kothagudem depot and 18 in Madhira depot stayed off the roads with some of the employees refraining from work in the morning.
The strike caused severe inconvenience to the commuters bound to different destinations. However, the inter-district buses from other districts passed through the district as usual from early hours of the day. The impact of the nation-wide strike was felt in the coal hub of Kothagudem, considered to be the traditional stronghold of the Left-affiliated trade unions. Rallies were held in Khammam and Kothagudem divisions under the aegis of the CITU and other Left-affiliated unions opposing the Central government’s move to pass the “Road Safety and Transport Bill, 2014”.
The union leaders alleged that the Bill contained several detrimental provisions aimed at weakening the State road transport corporations and allowing the multinational companies to enter into the transport sector by undermining the interests of lakhs of autorickshaw, taxi and bus drivers.
