Life remains paralysed for second day in Telangana

Hyderabad: Normal life remained paralysed in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh Monday for the second successive day as the 48-hour shutdown called by the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) demanding a separate state of Telangana evoked total response.

Hyderabad and nine other districts of the region continued to be tense as TRS chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao's fast-unto-death entered the ninth day.

For the second day, buses of state-owned Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) remained off the roads while road blockades by the protestors affected vehicular movement on the highways.

All educational institutions, shops, business establishments, cinema theatres and petrol bunks remained closed in Hyderabad and other parts of Telangana, causing severe inconvenience to the public.
Tension prevailed on the campus of Osmania University here Monday morning as armed policemen and personnel of Rapid Action Force (RAF) were mobilised in huge numbers to prevent students from taking out a rally to the state assembly.

Police entered the Arts College on the campus and the university hostel to evict students, who planned to lay siege to the assembly to demand that it pass a resolution on a separate Telangana state.

The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of students and teachers of Osmania University has protested the police action and demanded that the government withdraw all forces from the campus. The JAC leaders have warned the government of serious consequences otherwise.

Suicide by five Telangana sympathizers, sporadic incidents of violence, widespread protests across the region and road blockades marked the shutdown on the first day Sunday.

Meanwhile, KCR, as the TRS chief is popularly known, continued his fast-unto-death at the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) here demanding separate statehood to the Telangana region.

Doctors at NIMS said KCR, who was in judicial custody, was running high temperature and had turned very weak as he has not been taking food for the past nine days.

Chief Minister K. Rosaiah personally went to NIMS Sunday night to persuade KCR to end the fast but the latter made it clear that he would not call off the fast unless a decision was taken on carving out a separate Telangana state.

Rosaiah, who was accompanied by Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) president Ajit Singh and health minister D. Nagender, told KCR that the central government was seized of the Telangana issue but the TRS chief demanded that at least the state assembly pass a resolution.

KCR was arrested Nov 29 by the police near Karimnagar town when he was heading to Siddipet town in Medak district for launching a fast unto death. He was taken to Khammam town, where a court sent him to jail for 14 days.

IANS