Left parties join Telangana protests

Hyderabad: As the ongoing strike by employees of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) entered its 13th day on Thursday, Left parties and some professors joined it in solidarity with the employees.
Speaking to ANI Ashwathama Reddy, RTC, Joint Action Committee President said: “Today is the 13th day of our strike. We are ready to talk on the issue but the Chief Minister is not considering our request. After High Court ordered to conduct talks about the issue, but the Chief Minister is not obeying the orders. The court is observing his concern. There are ongoing protests and rallies all over the state at all the depots.”
More than 49,000 workers have been on strike since October 5, demanding the merger of the RTC with the government.
“This struggle is not only for RTC employees’ salaries and allowance, but this struggle is also to preserve the public character and the public transport because public transport plays an important role in the economy,” said K Nageshwar, an activist.
“Today RTC is having annual losses of Rs 720 crores but RTC in return pays Rs 740 crores of tax to Telangana state government. Is it right to tax public transport? Today illegal private transport is thriving at the cost of public-owned RTC,” he added. (IANS)