After private bus passengers, those travelling by cars were targeted by Telangana supporters on Tuesday even as traffic on the busy National Highway 9 between Vijayawada and Hyderabad came to a standstill owing to blockade called by them.
Telangana activists hurled stones at private vehicles carrying passengers at Narketpalli. Four cars were damaged. The ‘rasta roko' was called by Telangana Political Joint Action Committee to protest denial of power supply to farmers. These passengers also had to endure the ordeal of a long wait on the highway between Vijayawada and Hyderabad owing to the blockade at Kodad, Nagarjunasagar, Nakrekal, Narketpalli, and Choutuppal. Most of them were travelling to Hyderabad for the Dasara festival. Traffic was paralysed not only because of ‘rasta roko' but formation of human chains by the agitators. Along with cars, lorries too got stuck in the jam.
Traffic steadily improved as the protest was called off between 4.30 p.m. and 5 p.m, after Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy reportedly gave an assurance to the JAC leaders that arrangements would be made to supply power to farm sector.
