HYDERABAD: Telangana government on Thursday said it was ready to withdraw its major demand for the merger of the corporation with the Department of Transport.

JAC convenor Ashwathama Reddy said, “In the earlier discussions, we had indicated that we were ready to give up some demands.

On the 41st day of the strike, the Joint Action Committee of the Striking Employees (JAC) decided to abolish the merger demand for the time being and to negotiate with the government on other demands.

Ashwathama Reddy made this statement after discussing the future course of action with various opposition parties and trade union leaders. He blamed the government for the death of 23 employees in the past 41 days. The government rejected the High Court’s suggestion to a three-member panel of retired Supreme Court judges.

He alleged that K Chandrashekhar Rao’s government was trying to suppress the strike by resorting to large-scale arrests. He demanded immediate release of all those arrested throughout the state. JAC’s announcement came one day after a striking employee died of depression, while another was hospitalized with a heart attack. The driver committed suicide Wednesday.

The 48,000 employees of TSRTC have been on strike since October 5 to press for 26 demands, principally by the merger of TSRTC with the government. The government, however, called the strike illegal, rejected the merger demand and rejected negotiations with employees.

Following the High Court intervention, TSRTC officials held a round of talks with JAC leaders on some of the demands excluding the merger. However, it failed to end the deadlock.

The government did not accept the High Court’s proposal to release Rs 47 crore to meet some demands to end the stalemate.

To further tighten its stance, the government has decided to run buses for private operators on 5,100 or half TSRTC routes. The High Court on november 14 extended the stay till November 18, challenging the government’s decision.

*from various sources.