Effigy burning, protests against Andhra bifurcation continues

District council employees on Thursday protested against the central government's proposal to create a new state of Telangana to be carved out of Andhra Pradesh.

The superintendent of the district council, Firoza Begum, said several people will be unemployed and there will be a water problem once the state is bifurcated.

"We all Telugus want to live together in one state but Digvijay Singh (of India's ruling Congress) is trying to divide us. But under no circumstance we will let this happen. Even after so many protests the government is hell bent on passing the Telangana bill in the parliament but we are even ready to die if we have to stop this from happening," said Begum.

District council employees burnt an effigy of Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh while opposing the Telangana Bill.

They asked all lawmakers representing the state of Andhra Pradesh to resign from their posts or to oppose bill both in the State Assembly and Parliament and to dismiss that bill without voting on it .

Digvijay Singh had on December 12 met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, who has opposed the division of the state.

The Congress gave its approval for the creation of Telangana in July.

The decision to break up Andhra Pradesh and establish a new state of Telangana comes ahead of elections next year, and critics say the ruling party is seeking to shore up its political fortunes after dragging its feet over the explosive issue for four decades.

Supporters, however, say Telangana's economic development has been neglected in favour of the richer and more powerful Andhra region, and that a new state is the only solution.

Hyderabad, India's sixth largest city was a bone of contention because it fell in the proposed new state carved out of the western part of Andhra Pradesh.