18 hours ago
TDP urged to persuade govt to revoke land transfer to Lulu
Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh Public Transport Department (APPTD) Employees Union on Sunday urged the state government not to allocate the valuable RTC lands at Vijayawada Governorpet 1 & 2 Depots and the old bus stand premises to Lulu Shopping Mall. The union leaders said the RTC and passengers will suffer problems due to shifting of the depots to other places.
The union state president Palisetti Damodar Rao and the state general secretary GV Narasayya met the TDP state president Palla Srinivasa Rao on Sunday at the party office and submitted a formal petition expressing their concerns over the allotment of RTC lands to private group for construction of shopping mall.
The two leaders stated that the transferring of RTC property for commercial use would severely affect the public transportation services and create hardships for both employees and the RTC passengers.
The EU leaders said the proposed land allocation would tarnish the image of the coalition government and requested immediate intervention of the TDP leader and a reconsideration of the decision in view of RTC's long-term interests.
Srinivasa Rao reportedly assured the delegation that he would bring the matter to the notice of the CM Nara Chandrababu Naidu. The two leaders said the RTC lands in the heart of the city are crucial to RTC operations and should not be diverted to private commercial purposes.
They cautioned that if such moves continue, RTC—being a public transportation body—risks losing its public service character, which could have broader political implications on the Coalition parties in future.
The union leaders also announced plans to meet BJP State President PVN Madhav and Janasena Party President and the Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan to garner wider support against the move of the state government to handover the RTC lands.
They strongly demanded that the government revoke GO No 137 and take action to address the growing unrest among RTC employees.
