Telangana families to cook on roads on June 19

HYDERABAD: The talk of the town is Vanta-Varpu. Everybody in the city is talking of the novel programme to be organised on Sunday demanding separate Telangana.About 5 lakh families living in and around the state capital will cook and eat food on roads near their homes.This novel protest programme is conceived by the Telangana Joint Action Committee to provide plenty of food for thought for the central government which it says is dillydallying on the issue.“There is no response from the Congress core committee.The Congress should realise after the protest how strong the Telangana sentiment is,” Telangana Political Joint Action (TJAC) chairman M Kodandram told reporters here on Saturday while explaining the details of the programme. The TJAC declared that they would not create traffic problem but organise Vanta-Varpu in a peaceful manner.However, chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy held a review with top police brass on the protest programme.Later, DGP Aravinda Kumar told reporters that no one applied for the permission for the Vanta-Varpu programme.The city police commissioner would take appropriate decision basing on the situation on Sunday morning.“God gave us the hands to cook food and the stomach to eat. People need not seek any permission from the police to cook and eat food,” thundered Kodandram. He, however, said that they would create any traffic problem. Notwithstanding this, the police warned some tent house owners in the city not to cooperate with the agitators. Police even conducted flag- marches in some areas of the city.Though, the TJAC called upon the people to cook and eat food on roads in front of their houses, the organisers planned big protest programmes at 14 places. They will erect tents for singing and dancing to accompany eating. The major routes declared by the TJAC for the programme are: BHEL-Vanasthalipuram- Hayatnagar, Secunderabad Clock Tower- Koti, Kompalle-Medchal, MG Road-RP Road, Gun Park-Basheerbagh, and Uppal- Rajendra Nagar, and all national highways passing through the city. The TJAC urged the police not to place barricades near the Gun Park to prevent the leaders from participating in the Vanta-Varpu programme.Leaders of various parties, members of JACs and employees will gather at Gun Park and return to their homes to participate in the protest.