Kurnool reverberates with slogans for united AP

Kurnool: Slogans in favour of united Andhra Pradesh rented the air here on Wednesday, the 22nd day of the agitation launched in protest against the decision of the Congress party to divide the state. The agitators went around burning the effigies of the separatists at various places throughout the district. The state-owned Road Transport Corporation has suffered heavy loss of Rs. 7 crore in the district following strike by RTC employees for the last 9 days apart from causing lot of inconvenience to the travelling public.

From the day the Congress announced its decision to divide the state all trade unions and associations of RTC have formed a joint action committee and protesting their resentment in various forms for the last 22 days. However, after JAC gave a call for strike all the bus services were stopped. About 970 buses belonging to eleven depots in the district have confined to the bus depots.

The RTC employees raised slogans on Wednesday in a rally with a vow that they would fight for the united State like Srikrishna Devarayalu, Alluri Sitaramaraju, Mahatma Gandhi and Potti Sreeramulu. RTC employees’ union state secretary A V Subba Reddy said that the RTC would be first casualty in the case of division of the state. He said that major properties of the RTC like Kala Bhavan, hospital were in Hyderabad and the rest of the state would be losers. Taking strong exception to the plying of private bus services, he said that they would stop the private bus services at any cost. He appealed to the private bus operators to cooperate with the agitation and stop the services.

The indefinite hunger strike launched by YSR Congress leader SV Mohan Reddy entered the third day on Wednesday. A number of people including minorities, students, advocates, doctors and teachers expressed solidarity with the fasting leader.

Kurnool former mandal president Vishnuvardhan Reddy organised a motorcycle rally with students from Prakash Nagar to the Collectorate. Members of Rajaka Sangham have taken out massive rally carrying water melons on their head.

Women members of the joint action committee of Employees and workers associations tied rakhee to a person with the mask of TRS president KCR appealing to the TRS chief to support their agitation. TDP Politburo member K E Krishnamurthy demanded the resignations of the Union and State minister to achieve united State. He expressed solidarity with the TDP activists who were on relay hunger strike at the party office. He said that the ministers and MLAs need not attend the Antony committee as it was only a Congress party panel. The TDP activists has taken out a rally and burnt the effigy of Sonia Gandhi at their party office.

The employees and teachers unions’ members organised a rally and protest demonstration at the Collectorate.

The private educational institutions took out a massive rally from the Collectorate to the Telugu Talli statue situated at Kondareddy Buruju demanding the withdrawal of the decision to divide the state. The Teachers JAC would be launching an indefinite strike from the midnight of Wednesday, according to JAC convener Timmanna. He said that the teachers would organise protest demonstrations at all mandal headquarters. He said that they would continue the agitation till the decision was withdrawn. Timmanna said that the government teachers would participate in the ‘Laksha Gala Ghosha’ being organised by the private educational institutions on Thursday.