Telangana shuts down in protest against transfer of 205 villages

Hyderabad: The day-long shutdown called by Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday protesting the Centre’s ordinance to hand over 200 villages of Telangana to Andhra Pradesh for Polavaram irrigation project, affected normal life. Buses of state-owned Road Transport Corporation (RTC) went off the roads in all 10 districts including Hyderabad. Shops, hotels and business establishments were also shutdown in many parts of Telangana. [caption id=“attachment_1548227” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Earlier protests in Telangana. AFP[/caption] TRS leaders sat in protest outside the RTC depots since early Thursday to prevent buses from coming out. Bus services from Hyderabad to various destinations in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were suspended. The city services of the RTC in Hyderabad and Secunderabad were also hit, causing inconvenience to commuters. The Board of Intermediate Education postponed advanced supplementary examinations of 11th and 12th standards, initially scheduled for Thursday. The Telangana chief minster-designate called the shutdown to protest an ordinance issued by the Centre to transfer 205 villages of Khammam district of Telangana to adjoining state of Andhra Pradesh. The chief minister-designate has termed the ordinance as unconstitutional and said the Centre can’t take such a step without consulting the two states, which will formally come into being on 2 June. A complete shutdown was being observed in Khammam district, especially in Bhadrachalam and Palvancha divisions. About two lakh people, mostly tribals, who inhibit the villages are strongly opposing the Centre’s move, which is said to be aimed at avoiding an interstate dispute over the project coming up across Godavari river in Andhra Pradesh. The construction of the project is likely to submerge the villages and to avoid any interstate dispute, they are being merged with Andhra Pradesh. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh’s chief minister elect N. Chandrababu Naidu has asked his Telangana counterpart to avoid politicising Polavaram project and making provocative statements. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief wanted to know why TRS president Rao kept quiet when the previous government announced national status to Polavaram and also declared that the villages would be merged with Andhra Pradesh. Naidu said he would extend full cooperation to Telangana if Chandrasekhar Rao focused on the development of the new state. IANS