Protests continue in Andhra over Telangana

A shutdown is being observed in most parts of Rayalaseema region and some areas in coastal Andhra while leaders of various political parties continued their indefinite hunger strikes.

For the second consecutive day, Kadapa district witnessed a complete shutdown to protest the arrest of Congress legislator Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy, who continued his fast in a hospital. Vivekananda Reddy, brother of late chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, was arrested and shifted to hospital on Saturday.

Shops, business establishments and educational institutions remained closed in Chittoor and Anantapur districts in response to the strike call given by various political parties and groups opposing the proposal to form a separate Telangana state.

In Guntur district, the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) called a shutdown to protest the arrest of its leaders who were on indefinite hunger strike.

Demonstrations, road blockades, rallies and hunger strikes were also continuing in Kurnool, Nellore, Prakasam, Krishna, East Godavari, West Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vijiyanagaram and Srikakulam districts.

In Anantapur, three TDP legislators continued their 'fast unto death' in hospital. The condition of a fasting TDP legislator of Krishna district turned serious and he was shifted from Vijayawada to a hospital in Guntur.

Vijayawada was still tense as Congress MP L. Rajagopal, who disappeared from a government-run hospital Sunday night, remained untraced.

Ever since the central government decided to initiate the process for the formation of Telangana, the rest of Andhra Pradesh has been witnessing violent protests, paralysing transport, business, trade and educational institutions.

The central government had made the announcement on Telangana Dec 9 following a 11-day hunger strike by Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao and mass protests in the region, which includes Hyderabad.

Hyderabad and the other nine districts of Telangana, however, have remained calm since Dec 9.