Hyderabad, February 23: Two coaches of a passenger train were set on fire while students of Osmania University clashed with police today on the second day of the 48-hour bandh called for the formation of separate Telangana.
A group of protesters stopped the Manuguru Passenger train between Kesamudram and Thallapusanapalli stations near Warangal and set ablaze one of the coaches, after asking the passengers to get down. The fire spread to another coach, a South Central Railway official said.
However, none was injured in the incident.
Tension prevailed in the Osmania University (OU) campus here this evening when policemen used canes and lobbed teargas shells to disperse pro-Telangana students after the latter pelted stones on them.
The situation on the campus, which witnessed incidents of clashes between pro-Telangana students and police for the past two days, had remained calm since morning but by evening the clashes erupted again, police said.
Normal life was paralysed in Telangana region due to the bandh. Schools, colleges, shops and other commercial establishments remained closed and public transport buses remained off the roads as several pro-Telangana workers’ unions participated in the shut down.
The state government employees in Telangana have already been organising the non-cooperation agitation in support of the separate statehood demand.
The two-day bandh, called by the Telangana Joint Action Committee, was a success as all sections of the society, including doctors, lawyers and government employees actively participated in it, JAC Convener M Kodandaram told reporters tonight.
The workers of PSUs like BHEL, ECIL and NTPC also took part in the shutdown, he claimed.
Police made elaborate security arrangements and imposed traffic restrictions near the state Assembly buildings here.
Maintaining that the bandh has sent out a message to the Centre about the need to form Telangana, Kodandaram said the Congress MLAs from the region should protest like party MPs, who raised the separate state demand in the Lok Sabha today.
The non-cooperation agitation launched to mount pressure on the Centre over the statehood issue would continue till the goal is achieved, he said.
“Non-cooperation would continue till separate Telangana is formed. Other protests like boycotting census, refusal to pay taxes and travelling in public transport without tickets would also continue.”
The JAC, that comprises TRS, BJP and a number of people’s organisations, would meet tomorrow to firm up the forms of protest to be taken up, Kodandaram added.
Meanwhile, police said that around 1,000 agitators were taken into custody across the region.
The shutdown called by the Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC), which comprises political parties and people’s organisations, to demand introduction of Telangana Bill in the ongoing budget session of Parliament, affected normal life in the region.
A total of 65 cases were registered and 974 persons were taken into preventive custody to maintain normalcy in the 10 Telangana districts and the state capital, they said.
A total of 1,978 persons had been taken into custody yesterday.
According to police, the agitators resorted to violent activities besides blocking roads at 230 places and organised demonstrations at 72 places.
The pro-Telanga agitators also stopped trains in the districts of Mahabubnagar, Warangal, Ranga Reddy, Adilabad, Nizamabad, Medak, Khammam and Hyderabad city, they said.
The Telangana supporters also took out rallies at 161 places and formed human chains at 18 locations, while the functioning of five courts in Karimanagar and Hyderabad was affected due to boycott by lawyers.
–Agencies