Rastha Roko, a huge success

Even as the Sakala Janula Samme entered the 16th day today with the employees continuing to abstain from duties, RTC buses remaining stationed in depots, Hyderabad turned into a cauldron on Wednesday with traffic going haywire in 100 places due to rasta roko on one side and as the agitators and police clashed at several places.

The on-going Telangana struggle steadily taking a disturbing trend could be gauged from the fact that two private vehicles were set ablaze and a railway station was attacked and its booking counter set on fire. One Volvo bus was completely gutted when it was torched by some un-identified persons near the Jamai Osmania Railway Station in the wee hours of Wednesday. The vehicle belonged to a private operator and was engaged in transporting employees working in a software company.

Around the same time some suspected T-activists raided the Sitaphalmandi Railway Station and set fire to the booking counter. The arsonists fled the scene before the police reached the spot and put out the fire. It is pertinent to note here that both the incidents of arson took place in the vicinity of Osmania University Campus which has been the hot bed of violent agitations by the students even since the Telangana struggle began.

The growing apprehension among the people of the Seemandhra region of being targeted by the T-activists seemed to have been strengthened when a bus proceeding from Hyderabad to Vijayawada was set ablaze near Nalgonda. The agitators stopped the bus and forced the passengers to alight before setting the vehicle ablaze.

It might be mentioned here that the Telangana JAC has already threatened to stop the buses from plying to Seemandhra region. The JAC leaders also warned the government that if the bus services were not stopped, they would not be held responsible for any untoward incidents. Though RTC employees have been on strike for the last 10 days and the buses remained off the roads, the authorities with the help of private services seem to be operating some services to the Seemandhra region.

As part of the exercise to intensify the agitation for a separate state, the T-activists today took their fight on the roads in the state capital by organizing rasta roko. As the activists mainly belonging to TRS and BJP blocked the roads in about 100 busy areas, the vehicular traffic went haywire. The agitation was organized during the peak office-going time resulting in traffic jams, and stranded the citizens, especially the staff proceeding to the MNCs and other IT firms in the Hitech City.

The police who were deployed all over the twin cities in view of the rasta roko were engaged in pushing and jostling at many places on the roads as the agitators squatted on the roads. However, the police forcibly evicted the agitators and arrested scores of them including a number of legislators.

HARISH RAO’S WARNING
The TRS MLA from Siddipet, Mr. Harish Rao along with his supporters blocked the road leading to the Hitech City and prevented the employees of many IT firms from going to work. He and others tried to persuade the techies to abstain from work to protest against the alleged police assault on TNGO’s leader Mr. Swami Goud at the RTA Office on Tuesday. As he and others squatted on the main road, traffic on both sides of the main road came to a grinding halt. Before being arrested and whisked away in a police vehicle, Mr. Harish Rao warned that they would launch Hyderabad Blockade in the second week of October and bring normal life to a standstill. He also cautioned the government not to take provocative steps to suppress the strike by the employees, lest they would be constrained to intensify the struggle.

The police also stepped up arrests of Telangana leaders in a bid to check them from leading the agitations on the street and roads. Many TRS leaders like Mr. K.T. Rama Rao were arrested along with his supporters near Mettuguda for staging a dharna; Mr. E.Rajender was arrested at Trimulgherry for leading a rasta roko and Prof. Kodandaram, Chairman of TJAC at Paradise Cross Roads.

Meanwhile tension prevailed in Secretariat where the employees continued their strike. The striking government drivers stood near the main entrance and prevented their colleagues who were continuing to work. The police tried to intervene and this led to heated arguments and pushing and jostling between the two sides. The police then forcibly whisked them away in a van.

TwoTelangana Ministers Mr. Komatireddy Venkatreddy and Mr. Basawaraju Saraiah tasted the ire of the agitators at their native places in Nalgonda and Warangal respectively. While a group of agitators blocked the convoy of Mr. Venkatreddy and demanded his resignation, Mr. Saraiah’s house was attacked and furniture damaged by T-activists.

Heavy police deployments were made in the NGOs colony at Vanasthalipuram and other places after yesterday’s incident in which those who are not on strike were attacked. Rapid Action Force personnel were also posted at the CM’s Camp Office and also all along the CM’s convoy route.

Related posts:

1. Bandh call evokes huge response in Telangana
2. Twin cities ‘Bandh’, a huge success
3. ‘Sakala Janula Samme’ to be intensified, enters day 16
4. Telangana supporters plan bandh
5. Rastha roko on 28th, bandh in Hyderabad on 30th
6. ‘Rail roko’ ends, trains restored
7. Sakala Janula Samme, gets ‘huge’ response
8. Rail Roko got huge response, it is a success
9. Ekkadi buses akkadney
10. Rastha Roko was a huge success