Bandh turns violent, 2 end lives

Dec. 6: The first day of the 48-hour Telangana bandh call given by the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), dem-anding a specific announcement on a separate Telangana state was complete and peaceful with sporadic violent incidents in the district on Sunday.
Rail traffic was disrupted at several places and protestors torched a telephone exchange and burnt several vehicles. Unidentified persons tried to set fire to a bus hired by the APSRTC on the premises of the Karimnagar bus stand in the early hours of Sunday. The bus was partially burnt. As a precautionary measure, the APSRTC had cancelled all bus services from Saturday night itself. Passengers were subjected to hardship with no transport facility.
Rail traffic was also disrupted on certain sections when the agitators staged rail rokos. Protestors stop-ped the AP Express from Hyderabad to New Delhi at Bisugir Sharrief railway station and staged a rail roko.
Police rushed to the spot and dispersed the agitators. The protestors named the AP Express as Telangana Express. Miscreants remo-ved fish plates at Raghavapuram railway station in Odela mandal. Protests intensified with agitators stepping up relay hunger strikes, burning of effigies and staging mock funeral rallies for Congress leaders.
Two TRS activists committed suicide on Sunday, demanding a separate Telangana state. Telangana supporter and TRS activist Arellli Krishna, 18, of Rachapalle village of Jammikunta mandal committed suicide by consuming pesticide. He was studying ITI.
Barigela Ashok, 24, of Narayanpur village of Yellareddypet mandal also committed suicide by setting himself ablaze after pouring kerosene on himself. Another youth Chiluveru Omprakash, 25, of Himmatnagar village in Veenavanka mandal attempted suicide.
Meanwhile, agitators set fire to a vehicle belonging to Ramagundam MLA Mr Somarapu Satyanarayana in Godavarikhani town and demolished the statue of former speaker late D. Sripada Rao at Ramayampalle village in Muttaram mandal.
Protestors set fire to the BSNL telephone exchange at Yelkathurthy mandal headquarters, a loss of Rs 15 to the public sector undertaking. Nearly 300 TRS activists also stopped a goods train at Dandepalli village in the mandal. The agitators also torched a jeep belonging to the revenue department at the police station in Metpalli town.
Five TRS activists climbed a cellphone tower and expressed their protest at Bhushanraopet village in Kathalapur mandal. Miscreants also set fire to the mandal parishad development officer (MPDO)’s office in Mustabad. TRS activists also besieged the house of APSRTC chairman and senior Congress leader Mr M. Satyaranayana Rao.
The Aituc affiliated to the CPI, called for a Singareni bandh and closure of all coal mines under the Singareni Collieries Company Limited on Monday.