Municipal Strike: Congressmen Storm Secretariat, Held

Demanding an immediate resolution to the sanitatation workers' strike, Telangana Congress leaders today staged a dharna at the main entrance of the Telangana Secretariat.

The protesting Congress leaders, who were demanding that the government extend the salary hike of 47% offered to the GHMC sanitary workers to municipal workers of the entire Telangana state, were taken into custody by the police for disrupting the free movement of officials and staff into the Secretariat.

Speaking on the occasion, Leader of the Opposition in the Telangana Legislative Assembly K Jana Reddy expressed displeasure at the KCR government for being undemocratic towards the strike of the sanitary workers.

Demanding the withdrawal of the ousting orders, the senior Congress leader reprimanded the government for failing to focus on the issue which was worsening the unhygienic conditions that could spread diseases.

He asked the government to extend the salary hike to all sanitaration workers in the State.

Though the sanitation workers had been on the warpath for the past 11 days, the KCR government had remained adamant in not resolving the issue, he alleged.

Reddy slammed Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao for giving an ultimatum to the striking workers who failed to resume duties. He took a veiled swipe at the Chief Minister for making an announcement to hike salaries only to workers under the GHMC's purview.

The Congress would intensify protests if the government failed to resolve the issue by Friday evening, he warned.

TPCC chief Uttam Kumar Reddy, former APCC Chief Ponnala Lakshmaiah, deputy floor leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Shabbir Ai, MP V Hanumanth Rao, former MP Anjan Kumar Yadav, former ministers Danam Nagender and Sridhar Babu, and others participated in the protests.

Meanwhile, the Left parties and the leaders of other parties went round the city enforcing the bandh called for, to little effect.