Striking municipal employees staged a novel agitation here as protests continued with vigour for the 50th day on Wednesday in protest against Congress Working Committee’s decision to bifurcate the State.
Municipal Revenue Officer Manjula Kumari and her colleagues were the cynosure of all eyes as they came in procession wearing garlands of vegetables from the office of the City Municipal Corporation.
They turned themselves into hawkers and shouted unbelievable prices of Rs. 500 per kg of tomato and Rs. 400 per kg of brinjal, much to the bewilderment of the onlookers.
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Asked about the reasons for the prices of vegetables hitting the roof, they blamed Congress President Sonia Gandhi. “We are not in a position to grow vegetables due to denial of water by upper riparian states”, they said while performing the skit at the Church centre. They visualised a situation wherein the drought-prone district would not be in a position to grow not only vegetables and foodgrains, but also struggle to get even drinking water as the civic body depended on river Krishna for replenishment to its two summer storage tanks.
Hence the State’s integrity should be preserved at any cost, they concluded.
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Insisting that all parliamentarians and legislators from Seemandhra resign from their posts to block the proposed cabinet note on Telangana formation, APNGOs Association State associate president Sk.Abdul Basheer told reporters that they were not responsible for any violent attack on the offices of any political party leaders.
“We are keen on continuing the stir in a peaceful manner without giving space for politicians as they have tendency to look for political mileage”, he maintained.
The planned protests included picketing of Central Government offices (September 19, 20, 27 and 28), closure of all educational institutions (September 23 to 30) and private bus operators strike (September 25 to 27), APNGOs association district General Secretary B. Srinivasa Rao informed.
Meanwhile, Samaikyandhra SC,ST, BC, Minorities political JAC led by its Convener K. Rajasekhar from the Congress and its co-convener Kommuri Ravichandra from the TDP staged a demonstration in-front of the Prakasam Bhavan here to press for united Andhra Pradesh.
The agitators including Lok Satta Party leader Md Rafi Ahamad and Congress OBC cell Chairman G.Veerabhadrachari expressed fears that ongoing welfare schemes, including the popular Re. 1-a-kg rice, could not be continued in truncated Andhra Pradesh in the event of the State’s division as it would become economically unviable without the huge revenue being generated now from Hyderabad.
Relay fast
TDP Minorities wing leader Pathan Hanif Khan said Hyderabad, which had been developed due to collective efforts of people from different regions in the State, belonged to all.
The relay-fast by advocates and court employees entered the 43rd day.
In Yerragondapalem, striking employees walked in the reverse, while samaikyandhra protagonists blocked vehicular traffic on the East coast highway near Chirala.
Protests were also organised, in among other places, at Giddalur, Markapur, Kangiri, Kandukur, Parchur and Martur in the district.