TSRTC strike: Driver attempts suicide, rescued by locals in Vikarabad

On Monday, a driver employed with the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) allegedly attempted suicide. Venkataiah, participating in the ongoing TSRTC strike jumped in front of a running bus in Vikarabad, Telangana. The police stated that the locals rescued him just before he was going to be run over by the bus. Reportedly, his financial condition was very poor leading to a depressed state of mind. Until now, 4 employees of the TSRTC have allegedly taken their own lives while many others have attempted suicide.  

Read: Telangana: Striking TSRTC Employees, Congress Workers Detained

23-day long strike 

The indefinite protests against the state government for sacking more than 40,000 TSRTC employees intensified on Monday. The strike of the employees has been going on for 23 days. Some of the demands of the Joint Action Committee of TSRTC are the merger of the corporation with the state government and an increase in salaries. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao though has shown an unwillingness to compromise with the protesters. Thus, he has earned the ire of opposition parties such as the Telugu Desam Party and Congress. 

Read: Telangana: Congress Demands Judicial Probe Into TSRTC Strike

Congress demands judicial probe 

On October 25, Congress demanded a judicial probe into the TSRTC matter. Addressing a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan in Hyderabad, party spokesperson Dasoju Sravan stated that a sitting High Court judge should order a probe on the TSRTC’s income, assets and liabilities and other aspects of its employees. Maintaining that all employees and workers belonging to every sector had the right to form their union, he dismissed the Telangana CM’s argument that the unions were going on a strike before every election. The Congress spokesperson also criticised the Telangana government for disobeying the order of the Telangana High Court by not paying the salaries for the month of September to the employees of TSRTC. Furthermore, he called upon the government to issue a white paper on TSRTC.   

(With ANI inputs)

Read: TSRTC Calls For Statewide Bandh In Telangana On October 19

Read: TSRTC Strike: Another Employee Hangs Self To Death Amid Mass Protests