Telangana Non-Cooperation Rising

The non-cooperation agitation call, given by the Telangana Political Joint Action Committee, continued to attract the attention of government employees for the third straight day on Saturday, with staff of various departments signing the attendance register and shying away from work.

The non-cooperation agitation also picked up momentum in other ways - JAC activists staged dharnas and obstructed traffic through their rasta rokos at many places across the region.

TPJAC convenor Kodandaram, along with about 150 of his activists, was arrested at the RTC Crossroads after blockading the road.

Similarly, a road blockade in L B Nagar disrupted the flow of traffic, leaving commuters fuming under the sun. Reports from other parts of the city, including Somajiguda, Paradise, Uppal, Khairatabad and Ameerpet crossroads in the city, are also coming in.

From the districts, reports of the non-cooperation agitation gathering widespread support have begun to reach here.

The ticketless travellers had a field day with conductors of the APSRTC buses being told to raise "Jai Telangana" slogans when they asked the passengers to buy tickets.

The work in government offices across the districts also suffered due to the stir call, leaving many people rubbing their hands in exasperation.

Employees of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board justified their participation in the stir by saying that the government may lose revenue due to their non-cooperation, but the agitation was indeed having an effect.

Talking to mediapersons, one of the HMWSSB employees, P Ramesh, said that they would not get back to work till their demands were met. The employees said that they would not resume work till a bill on a separate Telangana is tabled in the budget session of Parliament.

"We will stay away from our desks till the formation of the state is announced. The agitation is having an effect and the government is under pressure," Ramesh stated.

Echoing his words, TNGOs' President Swamy Goud vowed that the agitation would continue till the Centre introduces the bill in the budget session.

Goud also said that another demand of the employees is that the state government allot 42 per cent reservation for Telanganaites in all departments.

Courtesy: INN