RTC Telangana Bandh Ineffective, RTC Strike Continues

The High Court directive to hold talks was thrown to the winds by both the Telangana government (the TSRTC management now, to be more specific) and the striking transport staff who remained adamant and did not budge from their respective stances.

As a result, RTC buses continued to remain off the roads for the 15th consecutive day on Saturday.

The hardships of the commuters were further exacerbated by Ola and Uber drivers and some auto unions extending support to the striking employees and staying off the roads.

Intervening to break the prolonging deadlock over the RTC strike, the High Court had on Friday directed the TSRTC management to initiate talks with the striking employees on Saturday at 10:30 am and set a deadline of October 28 to complete the negotiations and submit a report. Even the leaders of the JAC of the TSRTC were advised to call off the strike and commence talks with the authorities. However, contrary to expectations, the talks did not take place and the bus strike is continuing.

The JAC leaders claimed that they were ready for talks if invited by the concerned authorities, but the State government did not initiate them saying that it had not yet received the High Court order.

Meanwhile the State-wide bandh today called for by the striking RTC employees and supported by various Opposition parties, trade unions, student organizations, private cab drivers, teachers, lawyers associations etc., did not have any impact on the normal day-to-day life except transport services being dislocated putting commuters to hardships, especially passengers arriving at the airport and the various railway stations.

Hotels, eating houses, shops and business establishments, banks and other organizations functioned normally. Shopkeepers seemed to have ignored the bandh call mainly keeping in view the Diwali festival round the corner. Also it being a Saturday, the multi-national companies in Madhapur and Gachibowli were anyway closed. Thus the much publicized and talked about Telangana bandh turned out to be only a "transport bandh".

The so-called bandh, however passed off peacefully without any major incident, though stray incidents of stone pelting on buses trying to move were reported from a few places. However the impact of the bandh was witnessed on the streets when Opposition and trade union leaders organized rallies, dharnas and rasta rokos all over the State.