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Tension spread across rural areas of Telangana region on Saturday as agitators clashed with police at several places on the first day of the 72-hour-long Rail Roko programme, in which pro-Telangana protesters would disrupt rail services from south to north to “make the Centre aware of the ground situation”. As many as 124 trains were cancelled and hundreds of people, including nine Congress MPs and a large number of leaders of Telangana Rashtra Samithi, were arrested on Saturday.
With thousands of police and paramilitary personnel deployed along the railway tracks in Telangana districts, the railways managed to run some of the trains, but largely the rail services were badly hit. The three-day Rail Roko programme comes amid the ongoing general strike by Government employees and teachers, which entered the 33rd day on Saturday. The agitators raided the Nellikodur police station and got member of Parliament Balram Naik freed.
Meanwhile, the attempt of the Kiran Kumar Reddy Government to end the strike by talking to leaders of employees’ unions failed. The fresh round of talks between the Cabinet sub-committee, headed by Finance Minister Anam Ramnarayan Reddy, and the leaders of the employees unions ended without any result.
The security arrangements, including the monitoring of tracks by the helicopter, helped only in Hyderabad-Secunderabad and surrounding areas but in the rural pockets, the agitators had a field day and the threats of the police did not make much of a difference.
In view of the Rail Roko, the South Central Railway cancelled 124 trains, including long-distance Hyderabad-New Delhi AP Express and Secunderabad-Nizamuddin Duranto Express. Trains coming to Telagnana from Andhra region as well as other States were also affected by the stir.
The confrontation between the police and the agitators led to violence at several places, including Osmania University in Hyderabad and at Mahbubabad station in Warangal district. One sub-inspector of police was injured at Mahbubabad as the angry protesters pelted stones on the police. In Janagaon, they brought hundreds of cattle on railway tracks.
In at least two incidents, the agitators removed the fish plates at Jammikunta in Karimangar and Nekkonda in Warangal district. The police said that the persons responsible for the incident in Nekkonda were arrested.
In Hyderabad, students clashed with the police and indulged in stone pelting when the police prevented them from going towards the Seetaphal mandi station near the Osmania University campus. Police lobbed tear gas shells to disperse the students.
TRS MP Vijayshanti was arrested at Lakdi Ka Pul station in Hyderabad. TRS president K Chandrashekhar Rao’s son K Taraka Rama Rao was also arrested at Seetaphal mandi, and KCR’s daughter Kavita was taken into custody at Moula Ali Station. Another senior TRS legislator T Harish Rao along with hundreds of supporters was arrested in Akkannapet in Medak district while squatting on the tracks. “We will sit on the tracks to stop the trains or we will go to the jail. We will see how many lakh people police can arrest and keep in jail,” said Harish Rao.
Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member K Keshav Rao and Lok Sabha member K Rajagopal Reddy were arrested at Bhongir station in Nalgonda district. The other Congress MPs arrested include Ponam Prabhakar in Karimnagar district, Balram Naik in Mahbubabad, Madhu Yashki in Nizamabad, S Rajaiah in Warangal and M Jagannadham in Mahbubnagar district.
Keshav Rao defended the Rail Roko programme saying it was aimed at drawing the attention of the Central Government to the ground situation in Telangana region. He alleged that the Government was trying to crush a democratic movement.
DGP V Dinesh Reddy and the Railway Police IG VSK Kumudi were monitoring the situation from the Rail Nilayam in Secunderabad.
With thousands of police and paramilitary personnel deployed along the railway tracks in Telangana districts, the railways managed to run some of the trains, but largely the rail services were badly hit. The three-day Rail Roko programme comes amid the ongoing general strike by Government employees and teachers, which entered the 33rd day on Saturday. The agitators raided the Nellikodur police station and got member of Parliament Balram Naik freed.
Meanwhile, the attempt of the Kiran Kumar Reddy Government to end the strike by talking to leaders of employees’ unions failed. The fresh round of talks between the Cabinet sub-committee, headed by Finance Minister Anam Ramnarayan Reddy, and the leaders of the employees unions ended without any result.
The security arrangements, including the monitoring of tracks by the helicopter, helped only in Hyderabad-Secunderabad and surrounding areas but in the rural pockets, the agitators had a field day and the threats of the police did not make much of a difference.
In view of the Rail Roko, the South Central Railway cancelled 124 trains, including long-distance Hyderabad-New Delhi AP Express and Secunderabad-Nizamuddin Duranto Express. Trains coming to Telagnana from Andhra region as well as other States were also affected by the stir.
The confrontation between the police and the agitators led to violence at several places, including Osmania University in Hyderabad and at Mahbubabad station in Warangal district. One sub-inspector of police was injured at Mahbubabad as the angry protesters pelted stones on the police. In Janagaon, they brought hundreds of cattle on railway tracks.
In at least two incidents, the agitators removed the fish plates at Jammikunta in Karimangar and Nekkonda in Warangal district. The police said that the persons responsible for the incident in Nekkonda were arrested.
In Hyderabad, students clashed with the police and indulged in stone pelting when the police prevented them from going towards the Seetaphal mandi station near the Osmania University campus. Police lobbed tear gas shells to disperse the students.
TRS MP Vijayshanti was arrested at Lakdi Ka Pul station in Hyderabad. TRS president K Chandrashekhar Rao’s son K Taraka Rama Rao was also arrested at Seetaphal mandi, and KCR’s daughter Kavita was taken into custody at Moula Ali Station. Another senior TRS legislator T Harish Rao along with hundreds of supporters was arrested in Akkannapet in Medak district while squatting on the tracks. “We will sit on the tracks to stop the trains or we will go to the jail. We will see how many lakh people police can arrest and keep in jail,” said Harish Rao.
Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member K Keshav Rao and Lok Sabha member K Rajagopal Reddy were arrested at Bhongir station in Nalgonda district. The other Congress MPs arrested include Ponam Prabhakar in Karimnagar district, Balram Naik in Mahbubabad, Madhu Yashki in Nizamabad, S Rajaiah in Warangal and M Jagannadham in Mahbubnagar district.
Keshav Rao defended the Rail Roko programme saying it was aimed at drawing the attention of the Central Government to the ground situation in Telangana region. He alleged that the Government was trying to crush a democratic movement.
DGP V Dinesh Reddy and the Railway Police IG VSK Kumudi were monitoring the situation from the Rail Nilayam in Secunderabad.
