nvkhkhr
Prime VIP
Hyderabad: The agitation for a separate state of Telangana in Andhra Pradesh yesterday reached an unprecedented level with the public transport system in the entire region coming to a grinding halt.
Rail service has been paralysed as the 48-hour long Rail Roko called by Telangana Joint Action Committee began yesterday morning on a successful note.
While about 10,000 buses of the AP State Road Transport Corporation were already on strike for the last six days, about 450,000 auto-rickshaws have also kept off the roads in the region from yesterday. Even the people having their own vehicles were finding it difficult to venture out as the petrol pumps were on a strike for a day.
Thousands of Telangana supporters descended on the railway stations and occupied the rail tracks in Hyderabad and other nine districts of the region.
The normally busy stations of Secunderabad, Nampally and Kachiguda wore a deserted look. With the indefinite strike entering 12th day yesterday, the administration was crippled as more than 800,000 employees, teachers and workers boycotted their duties or classes and offices were shut.
In view of the Rail Roko, the South Central Railway has cancelled 55 express trains. Similarly more than 100 passenger trains were also cancelled. The entire local train services have also been cancelled by the authorities.
Meanwhile, the Kiran Kumar Reddy government was in a panic mode over the worsening power situation in the state.
With no sign of Singareni collieries workers ending their strike and resuming the coal production, the management has offered to double the wages of the workers who return to work.
