Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has blamed the employees unions of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) for the present crisis in the corporation and felt that no one can save the corporation from sinking.

“It has become bankrupt. With a loan burden of ₹5,000 crore, the TSRTC suffers a loss of ₹1,200 crore every year,” he said.

 

Blaming the unions for the financial mess, he ruled out merger of the corporation with the government, saying employees of other corporations could make similar demands. “It’s impossible to merge the corporation with the government,” he asserted.

Terming the strike “illegal, irrational and meaningless”, he criticised the unions for going ahead with the strike despite knowing that the fact that the corporation was in a deep financial crisis.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, he said the buses hired by the corporation were making profits, while the buses owned by the RTC were making losses. He said the RTCs in the public sector were namesake across the country as several States allow private operators to run the bus services. In a veiled threat to the employees, he said the government could deploy private buses in large numbers (if they don’t call of the strike).

It needed to replace about 2,000 buses which might cost ₹1,000 crore. While the financial situation was in a bad shape, it’s unfortunate that the employees had decided to go on strike during the crucial festival period. “They could have made money for the corporation,” he said.

“We gave ₹4,250 crore to the RTC since the formation of the State. Besides, we made the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation to pay a grant of ₹300 crore,” he said.

The Joint Action Committee of TSRTC had begun the strike on October 5, which has severely disrupted public transportation services in the State. The Opposition parties, trade unions, student organisations and farmers’ associations have announced their support to the strike.

 

 

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