Telangana agitation spills over to cricket pitch

The pro-Telangana agitation in Andhra Pradesh is again gaining momentum, after a brief lull. The state is now on the boil. Normal life in Hyderabad and nine other districts of the Telangana region came to a halt as a 48-hour shutdown called by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of students began on Wednesday to protest the delay in the formation of a separate state out of Andhra Pradesh. Since Jan 18, two students had killed themselves over the issue.

And on Thursday, a cricket match featuring Hyderabad XI and Andhra XI in the inaugural Deccan Twenty-20 Cup championship was abandoned after pro-Telangana agitators shouting slogans invaded the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium at Uppal, Hyderabad. The agitators moved onto the field within half-an-hour of the commencement of the Andhra-Hyderabad match. As soon as the match started, about 100 agitators trooped into the playing area, uprooted stumps.

They raised slogans against the Andhra players. Sensing trouble, the Andhra batsmen at the crease and the entire Hyderabad team ran back to the pavilion for cover. Later, the police moved in and took into custody some of the agitators. This is the first sporting event which was affected in the State capital after the agitation for bifurcation of the State was launched.

Fearing trouble on Wednesday, State-owned Road Transport Corporation (RTC) suspended its bus services while shops, business establishments and educational institutions remained closed.

All political parties had supported the shutdown. The JAC called for a strike after two students, depressed over the delay in carving out a separate Telangana state, committed suicide.

K. Venugopal Reddy, 23, a final year student of MCA, set himself ablaze at Osmania University on Monday, while Suvarnamma, a first year BSc student in Mahabubnagar district, set herself on fire on Tuesday.

Police said at least 30 students and 15 policemen, including Kachiguda Assistant Commissioner of Police, K. Ramchander, were injured as Osmania University premises turned into a battlefield with students throwing stones and torching police vehicles. Police burst teargas shells and fired rubber bullets and used water cannons to disperse them.

The violence broke out over shifting the body of K. Venugopal Reddy. Police had stopped students from going in a procession towards Gun Park near Andhra Pradesh state assembly from the Arts College premises where the body was kept.

- Asian Tribune -