Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh Public Transport Department (APPTDC) RTC Employees Union has strongly demanded that the state government immediately withdraw the GO MS No 137, which allocates approximately 4.15 acres of prime RTC land in Vijayawada to Lulu Group for the construction of a commercial shopping mall. The allotted land includes properties belonging to Governorpet 1 & 2 RTC depots, the old bus stand, and a municipal park developed during the previous TDP government.
The land value is estimated to be worth nearly Rs 400 crore and located in the heart of the city. To protest the decision taken by the government and to create awareness among employees, a gate meeting was held on Friday at the Governorpet depots. Addressing the gathering, Y Srinivasa Rao, Zonal Secretary of the RTC Employees Union, Vijayawada Zone, said the RTC had purchased the land in 1959. The precious land was used to serve the RTC and the bus passengers. He condemned the state government’s move to hand over the valuable public asset to private parties. The EU leader announced that efforts are underway to form a Joint Action Committee (JAC) within RTC to mount pressure on the government to cancel the GO. He said, “We have already reached out to unions such as NMUA and SWF and will continue to struggle to safeguard RTC’s assets.” He urged employees to remain prepared for future protests.
