Seemandhra government employees on strike against bifurcation of state
The struggle for a united Andhra Pradesh by striking government employees comes at a heavy price for them. Over seven lakh of them in the Seemandhra region have not been paid salaries for the last two months because of their strike.
I met K Eswara Rao at his apartment in Visakhapatnam.
The Senior Assistant at the King George Hospital has lost a total salary of Rs 60,000. He has exhausted his bank balance as well.
With his daughters' college fees overdue, he took a bank loan of Rs 30,000 at 18 per cent interest to tide over the crisis.
He told NDTV, "We can go on strike for another two months also. The central government must watch the feelings of Seemandhra people".
In another part of Visakhapatnam, another government employee, Venkateswara Rao and his wife Kamakshi decide to mortgage some gold to pay for their children's school fees.
Most government employees are not celebrating Navaratri, but this couple wants to buy new clothes at least for their little ones.
The gold fetched the couple around Rs 40,000. Coming out of the Cooperative Bank, he said, "No matter what hurdles come, we would face. But we want Samaikandhra."
The worst affected are the 72,000 transport workers. Most of them are underpaid. All state transport buses in the state are off roads since August.
R Ravi Shankar, another government employee said, "Many government bus drivers are driving autos for livelihood now. But they won't stop the struggle."
The two-month long strike and the loss of pay is beginning to hurt the government employees in Seemandhra region economically. But there are no signs of any dent in their determination for a united Andhra yet.