Telangana farmers' protest over power cuts turns violent

Hyderabad, Aug 4: Protesting electricity cuts, farmers in parts of Telangana took to streets and the protest turned violent in Medak district.

Some farmers were injured in the baton charge by the police in Narsangi of Medak. Police used force when the protestors pelted stones and also attacked vehicles. Ten vehicles including a police vehicle were damaged.

Raising slogans against the power cuts, the farmers came out on the street and laid siege to the power sub-station.

Taking a note of the incident, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao directed the authorities to ensure minimum six hour supply in a day to farmers.

Agriculture Minister P. Srinivas Reddy termed the baton charge on farmers as unfortunate, and said there was need for police to exercise utmost restraint in dealing with such protests.

Farmers in Mahabubnagar, Nizamabad and Nalgonda districts also staged road blockades and laid siege to power sub-stations to protest erratic supply.

Telangana state is reeling under power shortage and the authorities have imposed daily cuts on various categories of consumers including four to six hour cut for domestic consumers.

IANS