Telangana strike at its peak on seventh day

Over 54,000 RTC employees stayed off work, as a result of which thousands of buses went off the roads in Hyderabad and nine other districts causing inconvenience to officegoers and regular commuters.

APSRTC managing director R. Prasada Rao said the corporation was making alternate arrangements to operate buses. “Only 300 buses could be run in the entire region. The RTC is suffering a loss of `7 crore in a single day,” he said.

Adding to the commuters’ inconvenience, agitators blocked all national and state highways. Both public and private buses were stopped at the borders.

The state government has asked the transport department to allow private vehicle operators to run their services across the region. Seven-seat auto-rickshaws, which are not allowed to ply on Hyderabad city roads on normal days, are being permitted to operate.

State government employees and workers of Singareni Collieries have joined the strike, paralysing the administration completely.

Educational institutions too have been observing an indefinite bandh for the last seven days, while coal production came to a virtual halt in the entire coal belt seriously affecting power generation.

From Tuesday on, the electricity department employees in the region will be joining the strike.

Meanwhile, tension prevailed in Osmania University and Nizam College, when students clashed with the police after they were prevented from taking out a rally to the Secretariat supporting the demand for a separate Telangana state.

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