Over 3.5 Lakh Seemandhra Employees To Strike

The Andhra Pradesh Non-Gazetted Officers' Association, on Monday, served its final notice to the state government, stating that close to 3.5 lakh employees and other public sector organisations would go on an indefinite strike from Monday midnight in protest against the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

A delegation of the APNGOs Association, led by its president P Ashok Babu, submitted the strike notice to Chief Secretary Dr. P K Mohanty, in the state Secretariat on Monday.

Later, the APNGOs Association and other associations representing Seemandhra employees participated in talks with a group of ministers at the state Secretariat.

However, the ministers - Anam Ramnarayana Reddy, Dr. N Raghuveera Reddy (Revenue), Uttam Kumar Reddy, Pithani Satyaranayana and Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha - failed to pacify them, or stop them from going on strike.

While the employees said that they fear that their interests are at stake in the wake of the formation of a separate Telangana, the GoM assured them that their concerns would be addressed through talks. However, the talks hit a roadblock, with the APNGOs insisting on the reversal of the Centre's decision on Telangana.

Later, the Seemandhra employees also held a protest near the H-Block, demanding that Seemandhra ministers resign from their posts. (INN)