Hyderabad, December 19
The regional flames, set off by the Centre’s move to carve out separate Telangana state, showed no signs of abating with hunger strikes and street protests rocking Andhra Pradesh for the tenth consecutive day today.
Normal life remained paralysed in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions which are witnessing a massive public anger over the proposed bifurcation of the state. Cutting across party lines, the MLAs, MLCs and other public representatives in the two regions are participating in the agitation.
A near-total shutdown was observed in the coastal commercial city of Vijayawada, East Godavari, West Godavar, Guntur, Anantapur and other districts in the two regions. Relay hunger strikes, road blockades and demonstrations in support of a united AP were organised at several places.
Tension prevailed in Vijayawada when the fasting Congress MP L Rajagopal was arrested by police and forcibly shifted to a hospital. A large number of his supporters clashed with the police at the hunger strike
camp.
Rajagopal, the industrialist-turned-MP who has been in the forefront of anti-Telangana movement, was refusing medical treatment, the doctors said. His supporters blocked traffic on the Vijayawada-Hyderabad national highway. Shops, business establishments and educational institutions remained closed in several parts of the coastal belt.
“Across the state, there were 10 instances of agitators stopping the trains while road traffic was disrupted at 86 places today. Over 410 hunger strike camps were organised,” the state Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) AR Anuradha said.
Over 80,000 agitators took part in demonstrations staged at various places in the state, she said adding that prohibitory orders were likely to be promulgated in Anantapur in Rayalaseema region in view of large scale arson targeting public and private properties. The former Chief Minister late YS Rajasekhar Reddy’s brother and MLC YS Vivekananda Reddy, who was on an indefinite fast in support of integrated state, was arrested by the police and shifted to hospital at Kadapa.
Meanwhile, emboldened by the success of his hunger strike, TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao is set to embark on a “Bus Yatra” in Telangana region on Monday.
