Telangana employees join 'General Strike'

Inspite of the government warning to implement no work-no pay rule and to register criminal cases against the government employees if they obstructed essential services, the Telangana employees working at various sectors joined in the General Strike (people s strike) beginning from today demanding separate statehood for Telangana. Thousands of Telangna employees gathered in front of their offices in Telangana region and raised slogans in favour of Telangana as a mark of beginning of the strike. The employees also organised rallies and human chains at various places, including the state capital, as a mark of protest. Telangana advocates at Nampally court in Hyderabad boycotted proceedings and observed protests in front of the court in support of the strike. The government yesterday made it clear that it would not hesitate to invoke Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) to ban strikes, implement a no work no pay order and initiate disciplinary action aginast the strikers. Meanwhile, heavy police personnel were deployed at the Secretariat in the state capital as a precautionary measure. Government teachers, employees of state-owned Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) and other public sector undertakings also were planning to join the strike from September 16. At a massive public meeting in Karimnagar last night, leaders of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRSA) JAC warned the government against using ESMA. Telangana will burn if the government dares to use ESMA against any employee, teacher or worker, TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao warned at the meeting. Even though the government had extended the ESMA in the coal production in the government-owned Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), hundreds of workers working at various mines in Adilabad, Karimnagar, Warangal and Khammam joined the strike on the call of the Telagana Joint Action Committee (JAC). The employees did not turn up for duty from 0700 hrs as all the 14 unions were supporting the strike call. The workers also organised rasta roko movement by forming human chains. UNI KNR AKM RSA CS1412