Seemandhra erupts in anger against state's division

Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions erupted in fury Wednesday, a day after the UPA agreed to split Andhra Pradesh and form a separate Telangana state.

Tension prevailed in Anantapur town of Rayalaseema as protestors opposed to the division ransacked a Congress office and set on fire the statues of former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

One of the statues was demolished.

Paramilitary force and police used force and fired tear gas to disperse the mob, which attacked government and private property and stoned security personnel.

A person attempted self-immolation in Anantapur. Policemen doused the fire and took him to a hospital where his condition was stated to be critical.

Protests rocked both the regions as the shutdown called by Samaikya Andhra Joint Action Committee (JAC) evoked near total response in all major towns.

Opposing the division of the state, students and activists of various groups took to the streets.

Road transport came to a standstill while shops, business establishments and educational institutions remained closed in the two regions, usually referred to as Seemandhra.

Effigies of Congress president Sonia Gandhi were burnt. The demonstrators raised slogans of 'Jai Samaikya Andhra' and squatted on the roads.

They demanded the resignation of public representatives, irrespective of their party affiliations.

The protestors alleged that the Congress, which leads the UPA, took a "unilateral" decision to divide the state, and demanded the resignation of all public representatives to force the party to reverse the decision.

Buses of the state-owned Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corp (APSRTC) could not come out of the depots because of sit-ins at all nine districts of coastal Andhra and four in Rayalaseema.

The shutdown hit normal life in Visakhapatnam, Vijayanagaram, Eluru, Kakinada, Vijayawada, Guntur, Nellore, Ongole, Chittoor, Tirupati, Anantapur, Kadapa, Kurnool and other towns.

The protestors blocked traffic on national and state highways at some places. Hundreds of police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed in the two regions.

A Home Guard in Vijayanagaram district allegedly consumed pesticide.

Tension prevailed at the Andhra University in Visakhapatnam where police baton charged the students trying to take out a rally. Lawyers also staged protests in the port city.

Interestingly, leaders of political parties also participated in the protests. In Guntur, the local Congress legislator joined a rally asking the central government to reverse the Telangana decision.

Telugu Desam Party leaders took part in road blockade in Eluru town in West Godavari district. The protestors also laid siege to the house of union Textile Minister K. Sambasiva Rao to demand his resignation.