Telangana activists target Hyd-Bangalore highway; 'sadak bandh' today

Telangana Joint Action Committee asks people to avoid traveling on the road for a day to avoid hardships

Cars and vehicles entering Andhra Pradesh or exiting the state on the Hyderabad-Bangalore national highway on Thursday are in for a possible trouble as the Telangana statehood activists have called for a ‘sadak bandh’ here. Those planning to catch a flight may also face difficult moments as the Hyderabad international airport is located adjacent to this highway on the city outskirts.

Interestingly, the Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC), a coordination body of political and non-political organisations, today asked the people to avoid travelling on this particular road for a day to avoid hardships.

The national highway (NH-7), connecting the two southern cities of Hyderabad and Bangalore, passes through the neighbouring Telangana districts of Rangareddy and Mahbubnagar to a distance of about 200 km and then enters the Rayalaseema region with Anantapur district at the other end bordering Karnataka.

Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) members on Wednesday stalled the House proceedings in support of their demand for introduction of a resolution in the legislative Assembly. “Had the government come forward to move a resolution in favour of  the separate statehood demand, we would not have taken up this agitation programme,” said TJAC president M Kodandaram.

Meanwhile, the state government said it was firm on dealing with such agitations. “We have the Supreme Court rulings against resorting to such agitations. The police will deal with the tomorrow's road blockade programme accordingly,” chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy said.

On similar occasions in the past, the Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway, which is the major entry point from the coastal Andhra region connecting the state capital, had come under siege by the Telangana activists. This time, these leaders have decided to target NH-7, which has a large catchment of the Rayalaseema region.

Reports said the police were planning to deploy heavy patrol at the trouble spots along the road. They are particularly alert about a possible disruption of traffic at the Hyderabad international airport, which is located near NH-7.