26 Sept 2011

TRADITION


HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh state secretariat Monday resounded to traditional Telangana songs as the protest for a separate Telangana reached the doorstep of Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy's office.
In a novel protest, the striking employees at the secretariat sang traditional Telangana folk songs and danced.
A group of women employees in front of 'C' block, which houses the chief minister's office, did the 'Bathukamma' or the dance performed to mark the spring festival in the region.
Another group of striking employees could be seen wearing black blindfolds.
State minister for infrastructure K. Venkata Reddy, Congress MPs Madhu Yaskhi, S. Rajaiah and Ponnam Prabhakar, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) legislators K. Tarakarama Rao and E. Rajender reached there to express their solidarity with the striking employees.
They warned the government and demanded that no action be taken against the employees, whose indefinite strike entered its 14th day Monday.

Telangana issue: Congress leader Keshava Rao attacks Chidambaram


The Telangana crisis can no longer be wished away by the Congress. One of its senior leaders from Andhra Pradesh, K Keshava Rao, on Sunday found common cause with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the main opposition, and lambasted the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) for not delivering on its promise of statehood to Telengana.
At a meeting in the capital on the Telangana issue, Keshava Rao targeted Chidambaram saying, “If the Congress did not want to give Telangana then why did Mr Chidambaram announce on December 9, 2009 that the steps for formation of Telangana would be initiated? The words of the Home Minister should carry some weight”.
              A hasty Home Minister P Chidambaram had on December 9, 2009, announced steps for the formation of Telangana state would be initiated. BJP chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad accused the UPA of retracting on the commitment in the Common Minimum Programme of UPA-1 of granting statehood to Telengana. Prasad said, “Please do not play with the sentiments of the people.”


Reacting to the rebellious stand taken by her party colleague, Congress spokesperson Renuka Chowdhary said, she was “disappointed” by his stance. “He is a senior leader from the state and he is perfectly aware of the ongoing efforts being taken by Ghulam Nabi Azad ji who is involved in talks and discussions with the stakeholders. For him to try an pre-empt this at this juncture is not done,” she added.
Launching a scathing attack on the BJP she said, “And the BJP is so desperate to try and get in anywhere and oppose us that it has butted in here as well. Please be assured that the Congress has taken up the matter with the utmost seriousness.”
Despite the Congress attacking all those who join forces with the pro- Telengana stir, the party has to cognisance of the problem sooner rather late as frequent calls for strikes and ‘rail roko’ are paralyzing the state.
Ravi Shankar Prasad lost no opportunity in attacking the Congress which heads the government at the Centre and in the state.“Let your party bring the bill relating to Telangana in Parliament. We will fully support it without any compromise. We have committed for a Telangana state. BJP always stands by its commitment. If at all we come to power we will deliver on Telangana”, Prasad told Rao.
Congress senior leaders however maintain that it is not possible to come to a decision when violence and agitations are holding the state ransom. “It has to be worked out through discussions and negotiations,” said a senior Congress functionary.


Rail-roko, Telangana agitation cost over Rs 3,500 crore loss

Hyderabad, Sep 25: The 13-day long strike-protest and two-day rail-blockade in Andhra Pradesh demanding a separate state - Telangana cost a whopping loss of Rs 3,564 crore.

Media reports informed that only Andhra Pradesh has suffered a loss of Rs 3,564 crore; the rail roko movement has cost the South Central Railway (SCR) Rs 22 crore.

Several trains connecting Hyderabad with other major cities in the country - Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai have been cancelled or diverted or re-scheduled.

Almost 500,000 auto-rickshaws in Telangana and more than 60,000 three-wheelers in Hyderabad joined the protest. Over 10,000 RTC buses remained off the roads in the state capital and in other cities following the agitation for Telangana.

‘Rail roko' ends, trains restored





After two days of total disruption in the Telangana region, train services were restored on Sunday night on conclusion of the two-day ‘rail roko' called by the Telangana Joint Action Committee (T-JAC) which, however, said it would announce the future course of its agitation in a couple of days.
Several trains left Secunderabad and Hyderabad stations after the pro-Telangana activists vacated the railway tracks on which they were squatting since the ‘rail roko' began on Saturday morning. Describing ‘rail roko' as a huge success, T-JAC chairman Kodandaram said the future course of action would be chalked out shortly.
Train services, however, remained paralysed till evening as supporters of the TRS, BJP and other parties stayed put on the railway tracks where they bathed, cooked, ate and held ‘dhoom-dham' cultural programmes.
Even after the end of the ‘rail roko' there was no significant relief to the commuters since the buses of the A. P. State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) continued to remain off the roads for the seventh day running.
Efforts by the RTC management to persuade the staff to end their indefinite strike failed as leaders of the National Mazdoor Union, spearheading the agitation, refused to oblige. The only silver lining was that the autorickshaws began plying by late evening after being off the roads for two days. The auto drivers' unions had joined the strike on Friday midnight.
KTR's warning
TRS leader K. T. Rama Rao, while participating in ‘rail roko' at Moula Ali railway station warned that an indefinite stoppage of trains would be organised if the Centre continued with its stubborn attitude. He demanded introduction of a bill for Telangana formation in Parliament. State BJP president G. Kishan Reddy in Mahbubnagar gave a call for laying a siege to the Secretariat and non-cooperation with elected representatives of the Congress. Hundreds of transit commuters, who were stranded at major railway stations, including Nampally and Secunderabad, turned the places into make-shift shelters. Heavy security was deployed near the railway stations in a bid to prevent any untoward incident and protect the properties.
Meanwhile, the South Central Railway announced restoration of several trains from Sunday night, including Secunderabad-Machilipatnam, Hyderabad-Mumbai express, Hyderabad- Nizamuddin Dakshin Express, Hyderabad-Kolhapur Holiday special, Adilabad-Tirupati Krishna express, Machilipatnam-Secunderabad, Repalle-Secunderabad passenger, Manuguru-Secunderabad Kakatiya Passenger and Manuguru-Dornakal passenger. The passenger reservation system counters were kept open till 8 p.m. following the restoration of trains.
Keywords: Telangana Statehood demand, rail roko protest, Sakala Janula Samme, JAC, TRS, Chandrasekhar Rao