Hyderabad, January 04: Over 1,800 suicide attempts in a fortnight, 72 of them successful. More than 40,000 casualties injuries from lathi-charges and stone-throwing, and deaths of hospital-bound patients because of blockades.
Yet these figures from the first 15 days of the month-old Telangana agitation don’t give the entire picture of the human costs, even when you take into account the shortage of milk and vegetables and the steep auto fare hikes because of stalled buses and trains.
Psychologists and social workers say the turmoil since November 30 has had deep impacts on the minds of most Telanganites and those from other regions settled in Telangana. The regional bias thoughtlessly instigated by “irresponsible” political parties, they say, has turned neighbours into “enemies”.
K. Ramachandra Rao, a farmer and money-lender from West Godavari who has been living in Hyderabad for years for the sake of his children’s education, agrees.
“A milk vendor and a vegetable merchant whose businesses I had promoted by providing soft loans now see me as their enemy,” he said.
Many engineering and medical students from Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra who are studying in Telangana are worried about their future.
“We don’t know if the situation will become bad enough to force us to leave since we are not ‘locals’ any more. We had opted for these colleges because they were new and are closer to Hyderabad,” said Gayatri Naidu, a second-year engineering student from Chaitanya Bharati Institute of Technology on Hyderabad’s outskirts.
The suicide figures come from the GVK Emergency Management and Research Institute, a public-private-partnership venture that handles medical, police and fire emergencies in rural and semi-urban areas.
The institute says a record 1,812 attempted-suicide cases were registered in the state between November 30 and December 15 — nearly eight times the normal fortnightly figure of 250. Phone calls, genuine and fake, to the Hyderabad-based institute’s control rooms too have risen.
Warangal district in Telangana recorded the highest number of suicide attempts at 172, followed by Mahboobnagar (133) and Ranga Reddy (132) while Srikakulam in coastal Andhra registered the lowest, 21. Of the 41,828 agitation-related injuries and deaths, Hyderabad district reported 1,547 while Ranga Reddy accounted for 2,255.
While students, lawyers, and government employees have hit the streets to hold dharnas, rallies and relay fasts for either Telangana or Samaikya (Integrated) Andhra, poor parents are plunged in gloom worrying about their children’s future, social workers say.
Non-salaried, middle-aged bread-winners such as day labourers, eatery owners and small-time traders are bearing the brunt of the disruption of life and work.
“The sona massuri of Kurnool, the finest variety of rice, will cost us more if Telangana is created,” said Padmamma, 42, who runs a roadside eatery in Hyderabad.
Gouthu Narasimhulu, a grain merchant from the city’s General Bazaar, said: “We Hyderabadis have to get everything—vegetables, tamarind, chillies, tobacco, flowers, tender coconuts, onions from either Rayalaseema or coastal Andhra. With a new state, there will be restrictions and new taxes.”
Govinda Rao Melkote, a popular film personality, said Hyderabad would even have to “import” home-made pickles from Guntur and Rajahmundry. Most spicy Telugu dishes have their roots in the coasts and Rayalaseema, though Telangana is known for its non-vegetarian, Deccan dishes.
Many are apprehensive whether a Telangana state would nurture a healthy environment for all to co-exist.
“I hope the elements of the erstwhile Hyderabad state the dominance of certain sections and feudalism will not return with the formation of Telangana,” said Malleswari Deverakonda, utility supervisor with a multinational in Hyderabad.
The widespread tensions kept the New Year celebrations low-key despite heavy police security. Most IT professionals and non-locals stayed home on December 31 night.
“We kept away from hotels and clubs as the environment is unfriendly and very hostile,” said Abhijeet Mukherji, a software engineer from Calcutta.
-Agencies