The police said that Section 144 will be in place around bus depots and at the Bus Bhavan in Hyderabad.
File photo: Nitin B
With striking workers of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) planning to stage a 'bus roko' protest across the state on Saturday, the Hyderabad police said that prohibitory orders, that do not allow more than four people to gather in a public place, has been implemented in parts of the city. "Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar has issued prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC around 500 metres of each Bus Depot and at Bus Bhavan (in Hyderabad). No gathering of more than four people will be permitted at these places with an intention of Bus Roko," the police said in a press release. "Hyderabad city is a metropolitan city where many business activities and academic activities will be disturbed if such programmes are allowed. Hence, any person violating this prohibitory order will be arrested," it added.
Saturday will be the 43rd day of the strike, as close to 48,000 employees of the TSRTC have been boycotting their work since October 5 to press for a total of 26 demands.
With Telangana government showing no indications of softening its stand, the striking employees of the TSRTC decided to temporarily keep aside their main demand for the Corporation's merger with the government, earlier this week.
JAC convenor Ashwathama Reddy made the announcement after discussing the future course of action with leaders of various opposition parties and trade unions.
The state government led by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has termed the strike illegal, rejected the merger demand and ruled out talks with the employees. After the High Court's intervention, TSRTC officials held a round of talks with JAC leaders on some demands, excluding the merger demand. However, it failed to end the impasse.
The government also did not accept the High Court's suggestion to release Rs 47 crore to meet a few demands to end the stalemate, saying this would not help resolve the problems in TSRTC which is deep in a financial crisis.
Further hardening its stand, the government decided to allow private operators to operate buses on 5,100 or half of the TSRTC routes. On a petition challenging the government's decision, the High Court on Thursday extended the stay till November 18.
IANS inputs
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