Telangana agitation enters third day

Hyderabad, Feb 19 (PTI) Pro-Telangana activists todaystaged road blockades and took out rallies across the regionin Andhra Pradesh as part of their non-cooperation agitationlaunched to demand tabling of a bill in Parliament forcreation of a separate state.

The political Joint Action Committee (JAC) also gave a48-hour bandh call in the region from February 22 demandingintroduction of Telangana Bill in the forthcoming BudgetSession of Parliament.

"We have decided to observe bandh in Telangana regionon February 22 and 23 as part of our demand for formation ofTelangana state," JAC Convener C Kodandaram told reportershere.

The agitation, launched by JAC and other statehoodsupporters on Thursday, continued for the third day today withgovernment employees in Telangana boycotting their work.

Protesters raised slogans in support of statehood forthe region and organised road blockades in Hyderabad andTelangana districts. Scores of activists, includingKodandaram, were taken into custody for staging ''rasta roko''here.

Similarly, human chains, road blockades and rallieswere organised in Nizambad, Medak, Adilabad, Karimnagar,Khammam, Nalgonda districts and other parts of Telangana. Someactivists even had food on road as part of the protest,reports reaching here said.

The demonstrators, including members of TRS, BJP, ABVPand students among others, also protested the suspension offive Telangana MLAs (for their unruly behaviour in the StateAssembly yesterday).