24-hour bandh called in Vizag against Telangana
Visakhapatnam: Following the nod to creation of Telangana by the Congress-led UPA, students in Vizag and other parts in Visakhapatnam district came onto the roads protesting against the move. Leaders of various Samikyandhra JACs called for a 24-hour bandh in the district on Wednesday and even bandh in Rayalaseema, coastal Andhra was declared.
Minutes after the UPA approved bifurcation of the state, there was mild tension in Vizag when students tried to block traffic near Maddilapalem.
Later in the night, Pendurthi MLA Panchakarla Ramesh Babu faxed his resignation letter to the Assembly Speaker. Security has been tightened in various parts in Vizag and other parts in the district after the UPA announced its decision.
Police sources said more than 500 paramilitary personnel including three companies of Central Reserved Police Forces and two companies of Rapid Action Forces (RAF) landed in Vizag.
Advocates of Visakhapatnam Bar Association boycotted their duties on Tuesday and took out rallies demanding the union government to maintain status quo in the state.
Later, the Lawyers Association held a meeting in which it was decided that advocates from Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam should boycott duties till August 2, 2013.
Now Fight fot the Capital Begins
Hyderabad: Rayalaseema MLAs want capital in their region. Congress legislators from Rayalaseema on Wenesday demanded that capital should be established in their region after the division of Andhra Pradesh in view of the area’s backwardness.
“Kurnool (in Rayalaseema) was the capital of Andhra state, but we sacrificed it for Hyderabad in AP. The state is being divided again. Hyderabad is developed. Now, it is not clear where the capital will be established.
Our proposal is that we should get the capital, because we sacrificed,” Andhra Pradesh Law Minister E Pratap Reddy told reporters after a meeting of ministers and MLAs from Rayalaseema region.
Rayalaseema has the highest number of drought-hit revenue divisions, he said. Expressing concerns over Rayalaseema’s share of water post-division, he said they will have to agitate if their concerns are not addressed. “Unless the package for Rayalaseema is specifically told to us, we cannot accept this,” he said.
