Srikakulam: Srikakulam MP and senior leader of the Telugu Desam Party Kinjarapu Yerrannaidu sees a conspiracy behind the proposal of the Government to wind up 23 depots of the APSRTC which included three depots viz Tekkali, Palasa and Palakonda in Srikakulam district. According to him, the aim of the proposal, being carried out at the instance of the World Bank, was to reduce the number of employees in the RTC from 1.17 lakh to less than 60,000 and then hand over the Corporation to a private agency.

Speaking to newsmen at his house here on Wednesday, Mr.Naidu said that this would be opposed tooth and nail by the TDP. "We want the RTC, which had been getting awards for fuel efficiency for the last several years in a row, to be strengthened and cover every nook and corner in the State. Private players will not cover interior and tribal areas and people in those parts will be denied transport facilities which will have an adverse impact on their economic activity," Mr.Naidu said.

YSR flayed

Mr.Naidu also found fault with the Chief Minister for directing office-bearers of the RTC to talk to the management and solve the issue. The State had a responsibility to ensure that the RTC ran on sound lines. The TDP would stand behind the workers in their fight against the anti-worker proposal of the Government, he said. If depots were wound up, what would happen to the `Palle Velugu' programme of the Chief Minister which envisaged covering all interior places with RTC services, he asked.

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