A TSRTC (Telangana State Road Transport Corporation) bus comes to a halt in the traffic in Khammam district, and three angry persons gather near the driver's window, while another bangs his palm on the windshield. Soon, the men rush to the exit door, leaving no opportunity for the driver to escape. The panicked driver, however, rushes to the door, and one person hits him. They try to catch him, but he manages to flee from the spot. Another man, meanwhile, starts hitting the windshield of the bus with the name board of the bus.
This incident, where the temporary TSRTC driver was being attacked, took place near Khammam Government Hospital in Telangana on Saturday. He was attacked allegedly by some protesting employees of TSRTC.
TSRTC employees had intensified their strike in Khammam. The employees had gathered at District Collector's office and resorted to vandalising TSRTC buses, including physically assaulting the temporary drivers hired by the government. According to reports, at least three such incidents were reported in Khammam district.
Private drivers who have been hired for driving TSRTC buses are being targetted and attacked by furious TSRTC employees who were dismissed by the government. The driver can be seen running for his life. This video from Khammam in #Telangana. Violence is not the solution. pic.twitter.com/jXmY6XZRQH
— Paul Oommen (@Paul_Oommen) October 12, 2019
Speaking to TNM, Khammam Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Venkat Rao, said “We are probing the incident. Although the accused are former TSRTC employees, we are yet to identify them.”
Since October 5, TSRTC employees in the state have been on a strike, asking the government to merge TSRTC with the state government, besides meeting 25 other demands. However, the government called their strike ‘illegal’ and sacked around 49,000 employees, who did not report to the duty.
As the strike caused huge inconvenience to the passengers, the government has hired temporary drivers, and private vehicles to accommodate the passengers. Further, they have even extended the holidays to schools and colleges till October 19, so that the government could use the school buses for public transportation until they make alternative arrangements to solve the crisis.
Meanwhile, TSRTC employee Srinivas Reddy, who took part in the protests in Khammam, immolated himself at his residence on Saturday evening. Reddy succumbed to his burn injuries on Sunday while availing treatment at a private hospital in Hyderabad. Following his death, the TSRTC’s Joint Action Committee (JAC) has called for a bandh in Khammam on Monday.