Warangal/Mahbubnagar: Violence erupted in Jangaon of Warangal district as agitators blocked traffic for over an hour on the busy Hyderabad-Bengaluru Highway at Erravalli on Friday, demanding new districts in the state.
The agitators were demanding Jangaon district in Warangal and Gadwal district in Mahbubnagar. Violence broke out in Jangaon after scores of protesters tried to lay siege to the residence of local MLA Muttireddy Yadagiri Reddy, demanding his resignation for his failure to pressurize the state government to make Jangaon a district. The mob set fire to an RTC bus while around a dozen buses, a police inspector’s vehicle and private vehicles were stoned.
“People felt cheated after they came to know that the MLA, who had promised to stand by their side, did not object to the proposal of Jangaon being merged into Yadadri district during the recent CM’s meeting on bifurcation of districts. We no longer consider him as our MLA,” said JAC chairman Arutla Dashmanth Reddy.
The agitators went to the MLA’s residence and demanded him to come out and declare his stand publicly. Police rushed to the spot and when all efforts to disperse them failed, they resorted to lathi charge.
The agitators then squatted on the Jangaon junction, blocking all the four roads. This resulted in a huge traffic jam on the Hyderabad-Warangal highway. Three new districts, Warangal, Bhupallapalli and Mahbubabad, have been proposed in Warangal district.
In Mahbubnagar, Gadwal Congress MLA D.K. Aruna and Alampur Congress MLA Sampath Kumar, led a huge dharna at Erravalli, demanding the TRS government to carve out a new Gadwal district. The government, however, has proposed Wanaparthy, Nagarkurnool and Mahbubnagar as the new districts.
Traffic on the busy Hyderabad-Bengaluru Highway, which touches Kurnool and other major towns, came to a grinding halt for over an hour till police cleared the roads and took the agitators into custody. Meanwhile, Mr Kumar, who sat on the dharna, fainted and was taken to hospital where he is recovering.
Demand for new districts is mounting in all parts of the state, not only from the Opposition but also among ruling party leaders ever since Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao unveiled plans for 24 districts including 14 new ones “on administrative grounds”.
