Telangana Colleges Go On Strike, Hospitals To Begin One Over Dues

Telangana is facing a dual crisis in its healthcare and education sectors as private colleges have launched an indefinite strike and private hospitals will begin one on Tuesday, demanding the immediate payment of long-pending government dues.

The twin strikes will affect lakhs of people across the state.

On Tuesday, the Telangana Aarogyasri Network Hospitals Association (TANHA) will indefinitely suspend all services under the Aarogyasri and Employee and Journalist Health Schemes.

The Aarogyasri scheme is a health insurance programme launched in 2007 to provide cashless healthcare coverage to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.

TANHA claims that the outstanding dues from the Rajiv Aarogyasri Health Care Trust now stand between Rs 1,300 crore and Rs 1,400 crore and this burden has pushed many of the over 360 private hospitals in the network to the brink of closure.

The strike will directly impact millions of beneficiaries, including BPL families and government employees, who rely on the schemes for critical medical care. The association has appealed to the public for understanding, citing their inability to pay staff salaries or procure medical supplies due to the financial crisis.

In a parallel protest, over 2,000 private professional and degree colleges began an indefinite closure on Monday. The Federation of Associations of Telangana Higher Institutions (FATHI) announced the strike, observing Engineers' Day as a "Black Day".

FATHI claims that the total pending fee reimbursement dues are between Rs 7,500 crore and Rs 8,000 crore, with some payments pending for up to five years. The colleges are demanding the immediate release of Rs 1,200 crore, for which budget tokens have already been issued. They have also called for all long-standing dues to be cleared by October 31.

The strike has disrupted the academic lives of more than 10 lakh students across courses, including engineering, pharmacy, and law, with classes suspended and semester exams uncertain. The college managements state they are unable to pay salaries to faculty and staff, causing hardship ahead of the festive season.

While the Telangana government has reportedly assured college managements that it will release the Rs 1,200 crore that has been demanded, a clear timeline has not yet been announced.

BRS Working President KT Rama Rao has accused the state government of "misplaced priorities", claiming that while funds are available for "commissions and contracts," they are not for essential services like education and healthcare. He demanded the immediate clearance of dues to resolve the crises, contrasting the current situation with the BRS' decade in power, during which he claimed over Rs 20,000 crore in reimbursement bills were cleared.