Telangana issue: Striking staff non-committal, but to support essential services

Statement folows three-hour-long talks held with them by chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy

Leaders of the striking government employees of the Seemandhra region on Wednesday said they would take a final call on the government's appeal to end the agitation by Sunday.

They made this statement after a three-hour-long talks held with them by chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy. P Ashok Babu, president of AP Non-Gazetted Officers Association, however, said they would attend to duties and extend emergency services even while continuing with their agitation in view of the cyclone as requested by the chief minister.

The staff of power utilities yesterday said they had not agreed to end the strike. Leaders of government employees have also maintained a similar stand for now.

In a curious turn, Ashok Babu said they would need assurances from the representatives of Government of India apart from the chief minister before considering the request to end the strike. “The chief minister said the state would remain united as long as he continue to be its chief minister,” he told reporters.

It may be recalled that the APNGO leaders had earlier refused to meet the Cabinet subcommittee that was constituted to hold negotiations with the striking employees, saying they would only meet the chief minister as their demands are of political nature.

Power problem persists

Meanwhile, a senior  energy department official said the power supply in Seemandhra remained disrupted in most parts as the striking power utility staff stayed away from duties. Power supply was only about 6,830 Mw recorded in the afternoon as against the actual demand of 11,500 Mw, according to reports reaching here. Generation of power to an extent of 4,425 Mw remained shut on Wednesday while the power utilities purchased 600 Mw to 1,150 Mw of additional power to meet the demand in Telangana, according to officials.

Meanwhile, the district administration in Vizianagaram decided to relax the curfew for four hours in two spells on Thursday as normalcy was returning after mobs targeted the properties of Pradesh Congress Congress Committee (PCC) president and state minister B Satyanarayana and his relatives last week.

No untoward incidents were reported in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions in the ongoing agitation against the state bifurcation since yesterday.