AP: BJP lay seige to NH 9, leaders held

Hyderabad, May 6: More than 100 BJP activists, including party National Secretary N Indrasena Reddy, were arrested today when they laid seige to the National Highway (NH) 9, demanding that the Government take up four-lane works between Vijayawada-Hyderabad immediately in Nalgonda district.

The BJP leaders and workers squatted on the National Highway and staged a sit-in at nine mandal headquarters, located on the Highway, and stopped the vehicular movement. The whole traffic came to a standstill on the Highway for more than three hours, which connects several commercial capitals and industrial towns in the neighbouring states.

However, police entered the scene and arrested the BJP workers. Mr Indrasena Reddy was taken into preventive custody at Narketpalli.

Earlier, speaking to newspersons here, Mr Reddy alleged that Union Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy, elected from Miryalaguda Lok Sabha seat in Nalgonda district twice, had neglected the four-lane project sanctioned during National Democratic Alliance(NDA) regime.

Pointing out that at least five road accidents were occurring on the highway everday due to road congestion, he demanded that the Centre immediately take up the project.

Mr Jaipal Reddy recently announced that the Centre had sanctioned Rs 1600 crore to take up about 240-km length of the four-lane project.

UNI