Oppn road roko passes off peacefully, TDP extends support

Opposition parties today staged road rokos on national highways in Andhra Pradesh demanding special category status for the state even as the ruling TDP extended support to the protest which passed off peacefully.

The ruling Telugu Desam party, which quit the BJP-led NDA government over the issue recently, extended full support to the agitation.

Deputy Chief Minister (Home) N China Rajappa, who monitored the two-hour agitation programme, said it ended peacefully.

Traffic came to a standstill on the Chennai-Kolkata National Highway-16 as the protesters staged the blockade at different points from Tada in SPS Nellore district, bordering Tamil Nadu, to Itchapuram in Srikakulam district, bordering Odisha.

Traffic on Machilipatnam-Hyderabad National Highway-65 was also affected with protesters staging a road roko at Nandigama and other key places, police said.

In Anantapuramu district, traffic on the Hyderabad-Bengaluru stretch of the National Highway was hit.

Opposition parties--YSR Congress, Congress, Left and Jana Sena-- gave a call for the road blockade programme.

The ruling party organised human chains and sit-in protests on its own in Tirupati, Visakhapatnam and other towns.

The BJP stayed away from the agitation.

All the parties demanded that Centre fully implement the provisions of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 and also the promises made in Rajya Sabha to the state.