Hyderabad: The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) employee who set himself ablaze at the Narsampet depot in Warangal district after demands to resolve the agency staff’s grievances fell on deaf ears, died on Thursday, April 23, after battling for his life.
The driver, identified as Shankar Goud, attempted suicide by dousing himself in petrol and setting himself on fire. Surrounding RTC workers immediately rushed to his rescue and extinguished the flames engulfing the bus driver. However, Goud had sustained nearly 85 per cent burn injuries.
He was immediately shifted to MGM Hospital in Warangal, where his condition was declared critical. Doctors advised his transfer to DRDO Apollo Hospital at Kanchanbagh, but he succumbed to his injuries on the way, near Karmanghat, before reaching the hospital.
However, another RTC driver named Venkanna, who was participating in the protest at Nalgonda depot on Thursday, attempted to immolate himself too by dousing diesel and setting himself on fire. The police and fellow workers rescued him and immediately shifted him to the hospital. His condition is stable and he sustained no injuries in the suicide attempt.
Stand with Shankar’s family: CM
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy expressed shock over Goud’s death. He assured that the government would stand by the driver’s family and extend all possible support.
“The government is holding discussions with RTC employees and is sincerely working to resolve their issues,” he said.
During the state Cabinet meeting he chaired at Dr BR Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat on Thursday, Revanth Reddy directed Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka to hold talks with the TGSRTC workers’ leaders on Friday, April 24.
Addressing the media between the Cabinet meeting, Roads and Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy said that “we can bring anything back, but not life if taken away.” Recalling a similar chain of suicides that happened during the RTC strike in 2019, he said that it had started after one RTC worker Srinivas Reddy died by suicide.
“After his death 36 workers took their lives. Srinivas Reddy was well settled and his two sons were in the army. He had no reason to take that extreme step. Because of his act, several others ended their lives abruptly,” he said, appealing to the RTC workers not to resort to any extreme measures.
Buses stay off roads on third day
The TGSRTC strike, which began on Wednesday, April 22, after talks with the government broke down, continued to severely disrupt bus services across Hyderabad and the rest of the state on its third day on Friday. A large number of buses remained parked at depots, leaving commuters stranded and struggling to arrange alternative transport.
With a fleet of over 9,000 buses serving nearly 55 lakh passengers daily, the disruption has had a widespread impact on public mobility, besides causing mounting revenue losses running into several crores for the corporation.
Union leaders alleged that the government and RTC management had adopted an insensitive and rigid approach, ignoring employee concerns. They dismissed official claims that most demands had been addressed, stating that key issues remained unresolved, including implementation of the 2021 pay revision with the proposed fitment, opposition to the operation of electric buses in Greater Hyderabad and objections to recent employee transfers.
