Telangana may black out Andhra as power employees go on strike

Hyderabad:  Electricity employees of Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions of Andhra Pradesh will go on indefinite strike from Sunday to protest the central government’s decision to carve out a separate Telangana state. Over 30,000 electricity employees in Seemandhra, as the Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions are collectively known, are likely to join the strike called by the Seemandhra electricity employees Joint Action Committee (JAC). [caption id=“attachment_1155439” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image from Reuters[/caption] JAC chairman Sai Baba announced that there would be no exemption to emergency services like hospitals, water supply and agriculture. He said the strike would continue till the central government takes back the decision to divide the state. The strike is likely to affect the electricity generation and supply not just in the 13 districts of Seemandhra but also Hyderabad and other parts of Telangana. The strike may also hit the southern grid as all four southern states - Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu - are interlinked. Electricity supply in six districts in coastal Andhra was affected due to the two-day strike by employees on Friday and Saturday. The employees had also observed a 72-hour strike last month. Over six lakh government employees and teachers in Seemandhra have also been on an indefinite strike since 13 August. IANS