Huge traffic jams stretching to kilometres were witnessed on NH-44 in Anantapur town on Monday. Teachers associations, under the aegis of the Samaikyandhra JAC, lay siege to the highway at Tapovanam for over four hours leading to an unprecedented traffic jam on the highway in the district ever since the start of the Samaikyandhra movement.
The teachers remained unrelenting and did not allow the traffic to pass except ambulances. Gauging the combative mood of the protesters, the police apparently, chose to let the blockade go on.
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The teachers took classes on the highway as a novel way of protest while some others addressed the rallies of other Samaikyandhra JAC organisations passing by. Amidst slogans, the teachers made a fervent plea for a united State and said that Samaikyandhra alone could ensure development of all the regions in the State. They argued that inequalities in any particular region could be addressed through various other means other than the division of the State. If backwardness was the main cause behind the division of the State, then none other than the people of Rayalaseema had the right to fight for development as the Sri Krishna Commission had clearly ascertained, based on facts and figures, that the Rayalaseema region was the most backward in the State.
On the other hand, rallies and dharnas demanding Samaikyandhra continued throughout the district while the mandal headquarters such as Kadiri, Mudigubba, Hindupur, Dharmavaram and Guntakal witnessed massive protests with the participation of the general public.