Oppsn steps up protest; Govt grapples with power crisis

Hyderabad, Dec 28 (UNI) A day ahead of 'Maha Rasta Roko' by the TRS, the main opposition TDP, CPI and CPI(M) today took to streets across Andhra Pradesh, demanding nine hour power for farmers, even as the state government tried to meet the demand-supply gap of 32 million units by buying power from West Bengal and Central grid.

The stir took a violent turn in Sangareddy as CPI(M) workers, protesting against the power crisis and land issue, fought pitched battles with police, who dispersed them by lobbing teargas shells and resorting to lathicharge after the protestors hurled stones and damaged furniture in the collectorate.

Barring this and a few other stray incidents of stone throwing by agitators and police resorting to caning, the agitation passed off peacefully, said police sources.

Joined by farmers in Mahboobnagar district, leader of opposition N Chandrababu Naidu, riding a bullock cart, asserted his party would step up its state-wide stir till the Government came to the rescue of farmers. He reminded the ruling party of its poll promise of giving 12 hours power to peasants.

'We have started receiving 75 MW of power from the Kaiga Atomic Power Plant run by the Centre in Karnataka from last night', official sources told UNI here.

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