Blockade leaves Telangana paralysed

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posted on 13 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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HYDERABAD: After nearly a week of simmering, the Sakala Janula Samme brought Telangana to the boil Monday with vehicles deserting ..

HYDERABAD: After nearly a week of simmering, the Sakala Janula Samme brought Telangana to the boil Monday with vehicles deserting the blockaded roads and highways and students waging an intifada on campuses. With buses going off the roads and Telangana activists hunkering down across all major thoroughfares, transportation systems were crippled all over the region, including Hyderabad. With its employees on strike, APSRTC kept its buses in the depots, and left travellers to their own devices. Many trudged to railway stations or begged auto drivers and any other form of motorised transport to go to work or return home.
The day's activities started early with Telangana supporters in the TRS, BJP, Congress and TDP out ion the roads from 8 am armed with flags and placards. Telangana employees, teachers and students joined them and blocked all major roads connecting the state capital to coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema.APSRTC staff, including contract workers, locked up depots or drivers and conductors played games in bus bays. Police were deployed in large numbers at terminals to prevent any untoward incidents.

Though many commuters had, anticipating trouble, cancelled their travel plans or made other arrangements, many who had not done so went through a harrowing experience. With the arterial passages blocked, traffic backed up a long way.

Major transport dislocation was reported from the Telangana districts with all the important Telangana agitators like T Harish Rao, K Tarakarama Rao, Vijayashanti and M Kodandaram worked dawn to dusk to organise the road blockades. Several buses were attacked on interregional borders and on the outskirts of Hyderabad. Chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy convened an emergency meeting and directed officials to hire private buses and engage any driver available to run bus services.