Bandh hits life in T dists

Normal life was crippled in Telangana region for the second consecutive day on Thursday following the bandh called by the Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) of political parties in protest against the police lathicharge on students in Osmania University. While the APSRTC suspended its services in districts like Nalgonda , Medak, Nizamabad, Adilabad , Warangal and Karimnagar following which a large number of passengers were left stranded at the bus stations. The RTC, however , operated bus services to Medaram for the convenience of devotees thronging the tribal festival in the agency area.

Schools, colleges, cinemas, banks, ATMs, shops, petrol bunks, hotels and business establishments remained closed. A rally taken out by Progressive Democratic Students Union (PDSU) activists turned violent when they tried to barge into the Nizamabad district collectorate. Police used mild force to disperse the activists who pelted stones at them. A constable received a serious head injury while some students sustained minor injuries .

While 15 Akhila Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists scaled a cell tower in Jukkal mandal headquarters, a person scaled a cell tower in Talamadugu mandal of Adilabad district. About 3,000 people of Lolal village in Darpalli mandal staged a rasta roko at Indalwai on NH-7 bringing traffic to a halt. In Adilabad, advocates boycotted their duties and participated in protest demonstrations, while owners of private educational institutions sat on relay hunger strikes. The agitators staged dharnas in front of tehsildar and MPDO offices in Utnoor.

The employees of government departments boycotted duties in Warangal and Karimnagar districts .
Government doctors boycotted casuality duties to express solidarity with the bandh. The agitators took out massive rallies at Kazipet and Madikonda and burnt effigies of Union minister Pranab Mukherjee. At Bachhannapet mandal of Warangal, the angry protestors damaged the windowpanes and furniture at the tehsildar and MPDO officies. Meanwhile, Kakatiya University has postponed all the examinations except those pertaining to B Tech course. In Nalgonda, 10,000 students assembled at N G College grounds as part of Vidyarthi Polikeka (dhoom-dham ) agitation and resoled to fight till their demand for separate T-state is achieved. Police said 241 people were taken into preventive custody in the T-districts during the bandh.

A few pockets suffer in twin cities

A few pockets in the city suffered the wrath of the T agitators on the second day of the bandh even as shops and establishments in all other areas resumed business on Thursday. The bandh was almost total in Dilsukhnagar, L B Nagar and Vanasthalipuram with Telangana activists keeping a close eye on these areas all through the day. While Kukatpally remained shut in the morning but most shops and establishments were opened in the evening. Although the bandh was peaceful in most parts of the city, RTC which resumed services on Thursday suffered some damage with stone pelting cases on 25 buses. The APSRTC had to cancel 40 per cent of the operations due to various obstructions posed by the agitators. Nevertheless, along with the Old City most parts of Hyderabad remained normal. In spite of OU JAC calling for educational institutions bandh, many private educational institutions including schools and colleges operated on Thursday except those in Andhra pockets.
=================================
Lagadapati to woo MIM to united Andhra fold - Vijayawada Cong MP To Organise Jai Ho! Hyderabad Meet
=================================
In what could be seen as yet another attempt to ruffle the T-protagonists feathers, maverick Congress MP Lagadapati Rajagopal is contemplating to organise a campaign in Hyderabad by wooing the Majlis party. Tentatively titled Jai Ho! Hyderabad , the Vijayawada MP, who had gone overseas after the dramatic Nims episode, is busy chalking out future plans for taking his united Andhra and save Hyderabad agenda forward. Sources said the MPs close followers were in touch with leaders of the MIM, a key political player in Hyderabad, to join hands with him in the campaign. His aides were reportedly searching for a proper venue to organise the meeting. Though its not clear as to whats the response of MIM satraps to Rajagopals overtures, the MPs followers are gearing up to conduct a meeting in Hyderabad on January 25. We do not have any idea whether a rally will also be conducted as part of the programme or it will just be a closed door meeting, an aide of Rajagopal said. Sources close to the MP said the aim of the campaign was to prove that the state capital belongs to every citizen in the state and that a particular section (read TRS) cannot hold Hyderabad to ransom.

It may be recalled the MP had called TRS chief KCRs fast a bluff during a press conference and explained as to how he was forced to escape from the Vijayawada government hospital during his fast-unto-death to reach Nims. Sources said the MPs Jai Ho! Hyderabad campaign could fuel further trouble in the highly-surcharged atmosphere prevailing in the capital. With frayed tempers running high and violent agitations by the students demanding separate Telangana paralysing life, Rajagopals new program could again turn the region into a war zone, a political analyst warned. Sources said the two-time MP, who was out of the public glare in the last three weeks, would be arriving in Vijayawada from Bangalore on Friday and is planning to reach Hyderabad at night. It remains to be seen whether the MPs new gambit would click just like music composer Rahmans Jai Ho which fetched him the Oscars.
==========================
(source : toi)