Oppn claims protest successful

Khammam/ Nalgonda/ Suryapet/ Kothagudem: The call for Bharat bandh given by left parties along with other Opposition parties on Monday in protest against the demonetisation of high- value currency notes by Reserve Bank of India and Central government was successful here in Khammam.

The leaders of the Left parties CPI, CPM and CPI-(ML)-ND staged a dharna in front of the bus depot at Burlanpuram and did not allow movement of buses.

Speaking on the occasion, the CPI party leader Md Salaam alleged that the Centre had taken the note ban decision only to help big corporate companies but not for the welfare of people.

Due to ban on big notes, many people dependent on daily business were dying of hunger for the last two weeks as their business came to a standstill.

Many people with minimum salaries and with the no guarantee jobs were facing severe problems due to note ban. The CPI (ML)-ND leader Gogakinepally Venkateshwar Rao criticising the TRS party had said by not keeping any of the election promises, the TRS leaders were ruling for their own benefits.

“How can government take such an important decision without consulting the Opposition parties and informing the public before hand,” he questioned.

Meanwhile, the police interrupted the dharna and arrested agitators and sent them to police stations. Md Salaam, Ponnam Venkateshwar Rao, N Sridhar, Ch Venkanna, G Venkateshwar Rao, G Lakshminarayana, B Veeranna, SK Jani Miya, Suman, Rehman and Y Srikanth were among others arrested by the police.

The representatives of the All India Student Federation had burnt an effigy of the Centre protesting against the decision of demonetisation here at NTR statue at Yellandu crossroads.

Earlier in the morning, the representatives of the SFI held a rally supporting the bandh from Women’s College to Mandal Revenue Office here in the Khammam city.

In Nalgonda and Suryapet, demonstrations and rallies were held on Monday. The members of Left parties, including CPI (M), CPI and CPI (ML-New Democracy), took out a protest rally from bus stand to Clock Tower Centre.

Huge number of party activists participated in the rally by raising slogans and holding placards protesting against the demonetisation move. On the conclusion of the protest rally, the members burnt an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Clock Tower Centre.

However, the RTC buses were on the roads as usual and there was no impact on private transport systems also. Schools, petrol bunks, cinema theatres and business establishments had a regular day. In Suryapet, the Congress took out protests under the slogan Aakrosh Diwas.

Bandh like situation was witnessed in Suryapet town as the Congress workers forcibly made the schools, cinema theatres and shops shut down.

A protest rally led by Former Minister R Damodar Reddy was taken out in Suryapet town covering new bus stand, post office road and old bus stand.

Also former Nakrekal MLA led a protest rally in the main streets of the Nakrekal town and burnt the effigy of PM Modi. Meanwhile, members of the Left parties staged a dharna at the entrance of RTC depot in Suryapet. However, police took the agitators into the custody.

In Kothagudem, Left leaders and activists staged a sit-in at the bus stands in Khammam, Sathupalli, Kothagudem and Bhadrachalam towns preventing movement of buses from depots during the bandh.

The CPM leaders slept on the road to block buses at Mayuri Centre in Khammam, resulting in a huge traffic jam. Members of the Khammam Lawyers’ Association burnt Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s effigy.

In Pinapaka, effect of bandh was negligible. There was no impact on RTC and Singreni Collieries. The Left parties organised rallies to highlight the problems of common man due to note ban.

In Kothagudem, bandh was peaceful, with education institutions and shops remained closed voluntarily. Banks, which have been exempt from the shutdown, worked with security.

People faced problems as ATMs did not function at many places.RTC operated its services normally, while Singareni Collieries worked. In Sathupalli, shops and educational institutions remained closed.