Hyderabad, December 07: Life came to a halt today in the entire Telangana region on the first day of the two-day bandh called by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and other pro- Telagana organisations.
The day was marked by stary incidents of violence, arson, torching of vehicles and suicides in the region.
In Karimnagar district, Krishna, a second-year student of ITI, committed suicide by consuming pesticide last night at their house in Rachapalli village in Jammikunta mandal. The incident came to light only this morning.
According his relatives, soon after watching TV news that KCR’s health condition was deteiorating, Krishna was upset and shared his grief with the family members. He went to the backyard of the house and consumed pesticide and died on the spot.
In another incident at Narayanapur of Ellareddypet in Nalgonda district a TRS activist, B Ashok, committed suicide by dousing himself with kerosene and setting himself ablaze. For the past one week he had been participating in the Telanana movement. He was upset when someone said that a separate Telangana state may not be a reality. He breathed his last chanting the slogan `Jai Telangana’.
Three other persons made an attempt on their lives. While one of them died, the others sustained serious burns in the Medak district.
Shops and establishments in Telagana remained closed while APSRTC and private operators suspended bus services. Petrol pumps, ATM centres, TV entertainment channels, and markets were closed.
The bandh was peaceful and total in Adilabad district. Chief Minister Rosaiah and AICC president Sonia Gandhi were burnt in effigy at Bejjur in Kasipet mandal headquarters. Director-General of Police RR Girish Kumar said that the agitators set on fire four RTC buses, one each at Errapadu, Odduparthi and Chityal in Nalgonda district, and one in Karimnagar district. Nine buses were damaged in Rangareddy district.
ABVP members set on fire a Tata Safari vehicle belonging to Ramagundam MLA S Satyanarayana at Godavarikhani while he was busy at a Dr Ambedkar anniversary day function.
Seven government offices were set on fire _ the forest offices at Siddipet and Mancherial, sub-registrar’s office in Rangareddy, MPDO office at Karimnagar, MEO office in Medak, telephone exchange at Yekathurthy besides two AC machines at a telephone exchange in Karimnagar.Three government vehicles were damaged and one private vehicle at Siddipet, Metpalli, Mancherial and Chennur.
The agitators damaged the statue of late D Sripada Rao, former speaker of the Legislative Assembly at Ramaiahpalli in Karimnagar anmd the Telugu Talli statue at Shadnagar. “We have taken into custody 107 TRS activists and sympathisers,’’ Girish Kumar said. Rallies were taken out in Mancherial and Mandamarri towns. Agitators stopped the Bhagyanagar Express and AP Express trains at Uppal, damaged the windows of Kerala Express at Kannala in Karimnagar and stopped a goods train at Bellampalli.
In Adilabad town employees’ unions submitted a memorandum to the statue of Dr BR Ambedkar demanding separate Telangana state. In Nalgonda, TRS activists burnt two RTC buses of Eloor and Governorpeta depots at Vattimarthy village in Chityala mandal.
Black flags were hoisted on the Chityala tahasildhar’s office by TRS activists. They blocked the NH 9 for some time and organised rasta roko.
In Bhavupeta village in Yadagirigutta mandal some activists climbed the water tank. Hundreds of activists under the aegis of TRS MLA Koppula Eswar tried to remove railway fishplates but police came on time and foiled the mischief. The MLA and others were arrested.
–Agencies