How the ongoing Telangana RTC strike is affecting parents and students

11-year-old Shravya*, a Dalit student who is a class topper, refuses to go to school. Every morning it has become a struggle for her parents to convince her to go to school. The reason Shravya dreads the idea of going to school is not because she doesn’t like it anymore or that she is being bullied at school. It is because of the ordeal she faces every day in the crowded RTC bus that she takes to commute to school. Shravya is a resident of Yapral and her school, located in Trimulgherry, Secunderabad, is at least five kilometres away. Coming from a poor background – her father works as a security guard and her mother works at a private school as a helper – the public bus is the only means of transportation to commute to school. Owing to the ongoing TSRTC crisis, there is a shortage of buses and Shravya, who is a free bus pass holder, is forced to get into the cramped bus carrying her heavy bag. “She gets jostled in the bus. Yesterday, she complained that someone stamped on her foot and pushed her around,” laments Shravya’s mother Padma*. “It has become such a struggle to convince her to go to school. I can’t blame her too, I have seen how crowded these buses are. But we can’t afford private transportation every day,” she sighs. However, acknowledging their daughter’s problem, Shravya’s parents are occasionally shelling out money to hire share-autorickshaws. “For one way, the share autos charge Rs 20. How can I shell out Rs 40 everyday? It is not feasible at all. The other parents have two-wheelers and can drop their kids at school, but we don’t enjoy such luxury,” Padma rues. While Shravya’s father earns Rs 7,000 per month, Padma earns even less. “Due to our financial situation, we did not hire a private autorickshaw for her daily commute, and public transport was our only choice. And ever since school reopened, my daughter has been facing immense stress,” Padma says. Like Shravya, scores of students and passengers are facing great inconvenience due to the TSRTC strike. Though the TSRTC has been running buses by hiring temporary drivers and conductors, they are unable to operate their total fleet of 10,000 buses. According to the TSRTC, they have been able to run only around 6,000 buses. Due to the shortage, the buses are getting overcrowded with private vehicles exploiting the situation to charge heavily. The inconvenience has also left some passengers infuriated. On Thursday, a group of agitated passengers resorted to an impromptu protest by blocking the vehicles on the road in Hyderabad. Though the public are visibly upset with the state of affairs, there seems to be no solution in the offing, as both the government and the protesting workers are firm on their stand. While the government offered to negotiate with the protesting JAC paying heed to the High Court’s directions, the JAC rejected the proposal for talks as the government was willing to negotiate only if the JAC didn’t ask for the merger of TSRTC with the government.  *Name changed