Village and Ward Secretariat employees, stage protest at the RTC Complex Junction blocking traffic, in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: V RAJU
Village and Ward Secretariat employees from North Andhra intensified their agitation on Sunday by staging a protest at the busy RTC Complex Junction, demanding that the State government immediately resolve their long-pending issues.
The protesters, affiliated with the Swarna Gramam Swarna Ward (SGSW), comprise of administrative and welfare staff working in Village and Ward Secretariats across the North Andhra zone. They had been staging a protest near the Gandhi statue opposite the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) building for the past few days. They shifted their agitation to the RTC Complex Junction on Sunday evening.
The protesters raised slogans—“Udyogam Chestham – Oodigam Cheyyam” (We will do our jobs, but will not work as servants)— and vigorously shook empty plastic water bottles as part of their demonstration, highlighting, what they described as unreasonable working conditions and long-pending grievances.
Revenue and police officials reached the spot and held discussions with the employees. ACP Lakshmana Murthy was also present as police personnel attempted to regulate traffic.
The officials assured the protesters that their demands would be taken up with the State government and brought to the notice of the concerned authorities. However, the protesters insisted that they wanted the government to take immediate steps to resolve their issues instead of merely forwarding their demands.
The agitation which began in the evening, continued till late into the night, affecting traffic on one of the city’s busiest junctions. Vehicles were seen piling up on the roads leading to and from the RTC Complex. A large number of police personnel were deployed to regulate traffic and ease congestion.
The employees said they would continue their agitation until the government took concrete measures to address their long-standing demands.
During their protest, the employees raised several demands concerning their pay, increments, probation, regularisation and service benefits. They demanded that two notional increments be sanctioned to them immediately. They also sought payment of the nine months’ arrears arising due to the delay in completion of probation. In addition, they demanded that one annual increment be granted for the period of delay in completion of probation.
The employees further demanded that their minimum basic pay be fixed at ₹30,000 per month without any reduction.
Published – September 06, 2026 09:58 pm IST
