Seemandhra gets a breather, strike called off after 66 days

Hyderabad, Oct 18: One can expect normalcy returning to the war-ridden state of

as the government employees on strike have called it off temporarily. Opposing the bifurcation of the state since August 12, the 40,000 government employees had refused to take their salaries that accounted for Rs 2,700 crore.

Post assurances by the chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy that he would take it up with the cabinet and will give the people a platform to relate their woes. Following this, state ministers Anam Ramnarayana Reddy and P Satyanarayana declared that the employees would attend their duties from Friday.

The chief minister has further assured that he would urge the Prime Minister to follow the constitutional process adopted while grafting the separate states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand.

The strike had crippled the state administration and the economy equally. 13 districts of the two regions were badly affected. Buses and other means of transportation were also stalled and it was almost impossible to reach the two regions.

However, Andhra Pradesh Non-Gazetted Officers (APNGOs) Association president P Ashok Babu said that the withdrawal is temporary and will resume if their demands are not met. He further said that Article 371D be protected as it provides some safety to Seemandhra in the recruitment of government employees.

OneIndia News