Protest by electricity employees causes traffic jam in parts of Hyderabad

Hyderabad, March 24: Demanding pay revision, the employees of Telangana power utilities on Friday staged a massive protest, throwing traffic out of gear in parts of central Hyderabad.

Hundreds of employees gathered in front of Vidyuth Soudha, the headquarters of Telangana Power Generation Corporation and Telangana Transmission Corporation, in Hyderabad.

The protest brought traffic to a standstill on the busy roads around Vidyuth Soudha.

Employees of power utilities from various parts of the state descended on Hyderabad in response to the call for 'Chalo Vidyuth Soudha' by the Joint Action Committee of various unions of the employees. They were demanding wage revision and resolution of the issues of artisan workers.

Holding flags of their respective employees' unions and raising slogans, the protesters demanded the government to immediately announce pay revision due from April last year.

The protest led to tension and roadblock. Police officials were trying to persuade employees to call off the protest.

Vehicular traffic came to a halt on the busy Khairatabad-Punjagutta road to a standstill. About a four kilometer long traffic jam was seen in the area.

The protest also caused massive traffic jams in Ravindra Bharathi and Lakdi Ka Pul areas. There were traffic snarls in Masab Tank and Mahaveer Hospital areas.

Leaders of the employees' unions said they were forced to stage the protest as power distribution companies failed to resolve their demands despite several rounds of talks. The protest was organised to press as many as 29 demands of the employees, with the main demand being wage revision.