APNGOs begin strike

• GoM draws blank in talks with APNGOs
• Leaders say ministers failed to address any of their concerns
• 4.5 lakh employees go on strike work from midnight

Hyderabad: The government employees in 13 districts of the Seemandhra region went on strike from Monday midnight in response to the call given by the APNGOs protesting against the moves for bifurcation of the state. The group of ministers (GOM) led by the Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha drew a blank in its efforts to pacify them.

APNGO president Asok Babu who talked to The Hans India at 12.30 am, informed that the strike would have its impact right from the first shift in almost all the government departments barring the life-saving units in the public hospitals, relief machinery pressed into service in the flood affected districts and the ICDS units in the rural pockets. The RTC employees stayed away from their duties from midnight. Those who were already on duty will hand over the charge to respective heads on Tuesday morning. Some 4.5 lakh employees will join the strike. It would affect the services in Secretariat as well.

The APNGOs leaders stated that the strike became inevitable as the situation had gone out of their hands. It was not just their grievances alone what for the employees took recourse to agitational methods. It is a situation similar to "civil revolution" impacting lives of people in the entire state. Employees’ grievances in the event of a division were one among the top ten issues sought to be addressed, but the response was not forthcoming. He wanted the MPs and Ministers from the Seemandhra region to resign from their posts to expect a positive response from the employees.

He regretted the fact that the Seemandhra employees were disallowed from staging a protest in the very premises where they have been working in the state capital. The kind of cooperation extended by the Seemandhra employees to the Employees TJAC during the Sakala Janula Samme was missing when they were on a similar course. Ashok also decried heavy deployment of police in the surroundings of the government office complexes in the Seemandhra districts. Employees belonged APNGO, AP Revenue Services Association, A P Gazetted Officers’ Association, A P Commercial Taxes Association, A P Municipal Employees Association, RTC employees, Cooperative employees, TTD employees, AP Government Employees Association and other organizations are participating in the stir.

Referring to the talks they had with the GoM, he said that the Ministers wanted them to put off the strike until they could make a representation to the Antony committee. The APNGOs leader made it clear that they would not be able to make any representation to the committee appointed by the Congress party without knowing its terms and references as well as its status. “The jurisdiction, competence, sanctity and powers of the Antony committee were not yet known. So is the case with the GOM also as it was intended to address the issues related to the service aspects and grievances of the government employees.

Any representation to them would be a futile exercise, they quipped. Claiming their stir as "civil revolution", he said that the people from all walks of life have been extending full support to their stir. Different employees’ organizations in municipalities, electricity, irrigation, RTC, revenue, commercial taxes and cooperative employees came forward and served notices in participating in the stir from August 13. “It is nothing but civil strike and people themselves are coming forward voluntarily for extending support to the employees”, he added.

Answering a question, he said that the questions being posed by them on division of state should be addressed by the Central government. The Associat6ion president said that the issue of employees after division of the state is one among the top problems being faced by the people of the state. On August 15 the employees will relax the stir for Independence Day.