Telangana row costs Andhra IPL matches

Cricket lovers in Andhra Pradesh may miss out on the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches due to the current agitation for a separate Telangana.

IPL supremo Lalit Modi tweeted on Saturday that all Deccan Chargers' games have been moved out of Andhra Pradesh, causing a furious reaction in Andhra Pradesh. Modi posted on Twitter that all the seven matches, including the opening game, have been shifted out of Hyderabad and Vishakhapatnam. State capital Hyderabad was scheduled to host five matches and Vishakhapatnam two.

The opening match between defending champions Deccan Chargers and Kokata Knight Riders will now be held March 12 at the D.Y. Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai. Chargers will play their next three matches in Nagpur (March 19, 21, 28) and will return to D.Y. Patil for the remaining three league matches (April 5, 10, 12).

The move comes despite the State government assuring top security for the Twenty20 extravaganza.Andhra Pradesh Sports Minister K. Venkat Reddy called it an insult to the state. Reddy also appealed to Deccan Chargers to boycott the IPL in protest at the shifting of venues.

"IPL has insulted Andhra Pradesh by shifting out the match to Mumbai. We request Sharad Pawar and Lalit Modi to reconsider the decision within 24 hours," he said. "We have asked Deccan Chargers to stay away from the event as an expression of solidarity and send the message that the whole state is united in demanding relocation of the (inaugural) match," Reddy added.

The Telangana agitation has already robbed the state of a lot of cricket action. An India-Sri Lanka ODI last year was shifted out of Visakhapatnam due to the volatile security situation.

Spectators were kept out during the first two days of the Duleep Trophy final between West Zone and South Zone in Hyderabad because of similar fears. The IPL had earlier moved the opening ceremony out of Hyderabad to Mumbai.

Shutdown as Srikrishna panel meets in Delhi

A day-long shutdown was observed in Hyderabad and nine other districts of Telangana region on Saturday in response to a call by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of students to protest the terms of reference of the Srikrishna panel on the issue of carving out a State of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh.

Shops and business establishments remained closed while state—owned Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation suspended bus services in the region. Activists of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took to the streets at several places, staging demonstrations and blocking vehicles. The protesters turned violent at some places in Warangal and Medak districts, damaging buses and attacking the offices of the Congress party, police said.

As a preventive measure, police arrested dozens of pro-Telangana leaders since Friday night. Anticipating violent protests by students, police and paramilitary forces were deployed at Osmania University campus. The campus has been the nerve centre of the agitation for a separate state.

TRS chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao has already announced that both MPs, 10 MLAs and the lone MLC would quit to protest the terms of reference, which are “not favourable to formation of Telangana state”. The Joint Action Committee convenor M. Kodandaram has rejected the terms of reference saying they were against the Dec 9 statement by the central government to initiate the process for formation of Telangana State.

Meanwhile, in New Delhi, the government-appointed Telangana panel headed by Justice BN Srikrishna held its first meeting on Saturday and decided to issue a public notice inviting political parties and organisations to give their views on the issue of a separate state. "Once the government issues the notice, we will go to Andhra Pradesh and meet up with these groups," VK Duggal, former union home secretary and member of the five-member committee, said.

- Asian Tribune -