Hyderabad, January 18: Telangana activists blocked traffic on national highways and roads connecting Telangana with other parts of the state today in response to the call given by the Telangana Joint Action Committee demanding introduction of a bill on Telangana statehood in Parliament.
Barring stray incidents of stone-throwing in Nalgonda district, the protest passed off peacefully.
Thousands of Telangana supporters were taken into preventive custody and let off. Activists of TRS, BJP, CPI-ML (New Democracy) and JACs of employees, students and political parties took part in the protests.
Movement of vehicles into the city was blocked at the five important roads connecting the city, LB Nagar, Uppal, Aaramgadh, Suchitra Junction and BHEL by Telangana activists. TJAC convener Kodandaram, BJP senior leader B Dattatreya and others squatted on the Vijayawada road at LB Nagar blocking traffic for more than an hour from 11 am to 12 noon.
Hundreds of Telangana activists including TRS and BJP leaders, student activists took part in the protest.
Policemen were deployed in huge numbers to prevent any untoward incidents.
Protesters were taken into custody and later let off.
In Nalgonda district, activists blocked traffic on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada National Highway-9 at several places.
Telangana activists blocked the road at Srirangapuram, the border village of Telangana and Andhra regions, for more than a hour.
Police officials of Krishna district did not allow any vehicle from Andhra region to enter Telangana as a precautionary measure. RTC buses stayed put in depots till afternoon as the national highways were blocked.
BJP senior leader Ch Vidyasagar Rao took part in the protest at Narkatpally where mild tension prevailed when TDP activists took part in the road blockade. Protesting the TDP’s stand on Telangana, TRS activists tried to burn the party flags but were prevented by the police and TDP activists. The bypass road connecting Narkatpally and Addanki was also blocked for an hour by protesters.
At Bhongir, students hurled stones on a private car which did not stop on the Bhongir-Warangal highway. The car was partly damaged.
In Warangal district, road blockades were held in all the Assembly constituencies and revenue division headquarters.
TRS MLAs, BJP leaders and representatives of various JAC’s took part in the protests. In Khammam district, protesters blocked traffic on National Highway 221 connecting Hyderabad and Chhattisgarh.
TRS activists detained the Nandigram Express at the Adilabad railway station for some time.
Protests were also held across Ranga Reddy, Mahaboobnagar and Medak districts blocking traffic for several hours.
–Agencies