Telangana shutdown affects rail, bus traffic

Normal life in 10 districts of Telangana region, including Hyderabad, has come to a grinding halt as the bandh called by an all-party joint action committee was total.

The strike, seeking a new state, was also supported by the Students Joint Action Committee.

Apprehending violence, the state road transport corporation has cancelled its entire service in the region. It has withdrawn all its 9000 buses in the region while the South Central Railway has cancelled as many as 165 trains criss-crossing Telangana region and linking it to other parts of the state and others state.

Several long-distance trains, including Secunderabad-New Delhi AP Express, were delayed by many hours as the agitators were holding Rail Roko programs at Secunderabad and other stations.

Elaborate security arrangements were made to maintain law and order during the strike. Apart from the state police, 30 companies for paramilitary forces have also been deployed across the region and the police have issued a terse warning to those indulging in violent activities to enforce the bandh. Prohibitory orders were imposed in the entire region for one week.

The administration has also declared holidays to the educational institutions including private schools in Hyderabad and other places.
According to the reports reaching from different parts of Telangana, the protestors have closed the national high way No. 7 linking Hyderabad to Bangalore on one side and Nagpur on the other.

The protestors have put burning tyres on the road in Adialabad district. Large number of agitators were also squatting on the roads. Same was the situation on National Highway No. 9 which links Hyderabad to Mumbai on one side and Vijaywada on the other. A large number of protestors were sitting on the highway 9 at Sadasivpet in Medak district creating a massive traffic jam.

On the political front, the state government was also not untouched by the impact of the strike. Chief Minister K Rosaiah announced deferring the cabinet meet scheduled for today.

"As the government will be focussing its attention on dealing with the situation arising out of the strike, we have decided to postpone the cabinet meet," he told the media.

But the real reason seems to the be the decision of the 13 ministers from Telangana region to stay away from the Cabinet meet. The ministers, who have already announced their resignations, said they will not attend the official programs till their demand for a categorical time bound program for formation of Telangana state is not accepted by the centre.