Telangana Transport Strike Enters 40th Day, Death Toll Rises To 5

At least five workers of the TSRTC have committed suicide since the protests against the government started.

Updated on: 13 November 2019 5:52 pm

Another Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) employee committed suicide on Wednesday, taking the death toll to five after nearly 40 days of being on strike.

The deceased, who committed suicide by consuming pesticide, has been identified as A Naresh, a driver in TSRTC, the police said.

"He was immediately rushed to the Mahabubabad Government hospital. He died after undergoing treatment at the hospital," said the Superintendent of Police (SP) in Mahabubabad, Koti Reddy.

"The body was handed over to his family members after completing Post Mortem Examination (PME)," he added.

A case under section 174 CrPC has been registered and further probe is underway, the SP said.

Till now five RTC employees have committed suicide after the strike started in the state October 5.

The TSRTC employees have been protesting for 40 days now. They are demanding, among other things, a merger of the corporation with the government, better pay, and work conditions.

The government has however not agreed to discuss the merger. The employees have been continuing their strike after the government rejected their demands and set two deadlines for them to return to work. Only about 1,300 employees had rejoined duty.

On October 13, D Srinivas Reddy, a 55-year old driver of TSRTC Khammam depot died a day after he had set himself ablaze. Hours after Reddy's death, conductor Surender Goud, who was in his 50s, allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself at his residence.

Another TSRTC driver, aged around 40, tried to self-immolate by pouring petrol on himself at Narsampet depot in Warangal district. But the police immediately intervened and foiled his suicide attempt.

Earlier, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao has said nobody could save the public transport utility from shutting down.

"The strike will end with RTC itself. Yes, it is going to happen," he told the media.

"They are closing down the RTC. Nobody can save it. It is a gone case," said Rao pointing out that the transport entity has gone bankrupt.

The stalemate between the employees and the state continued even after Telangana High Court directed the government and TSRTC to initiate steps to resolve the issue. Both the government and employees are sticking to their stand.

(With inputs from agencies)