Guntur man climbs Cell tower to protest denial of Special status to AP

The campaign for special status to Andhra Pradesh has taken a curious turn after a man spent 36 hours on a cell tower in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh.

A realtor Mamilapalli Sanjiva Rao of Pedakakani town in the district set a novel protest by spending the whole of Saturday night on the cell tower to record his protest against the Modi Government denying special status to the state after bifurcation.

A man demanding special status for residual Andhra Pradesh as per the assurance given by the then UPA government spent 36 hours on the top of a BSNL cell phone tower near Pedakakani of Guntur district threatening to commit suicide if any one tried to rescue him.

Finally, he came down after persuasion by authorities and local politicians at 9.30 PM after spending nearly 38 hours on cell tower braving the scorching sun of Guntur district.

The real estate agent climbed the tower on Saturday night after entering the BSNL compound near Auto Nagar. He called up his family to let them know that he has decided to sacrifice his life in protest against the statement of the Union minister Indrajit Singh against special status.

Worried family members then rushed to the tower and tried in vain to persuade Sanjeeva Rao to come down. Sanjeeva Rao who worked in Hyderabad till last year had become a real estate agent in Guntur district after the bifurcation of the state.

"He was upset since Saturday after the news from Delhi was telecast confirming that AP would not get special status,” one of the Sanjeeva Rao’s friend told the media.

However, efforts of the district authorities, district collector, political leaders and desperate family members made no impact on his determination. “He is there for almost 36 hours and we believe he survived on only a bottle of water in this hot summer,” a local TDP leader Nannapaneni Rajakumari said.

The Guntur district collector Kantilal Dande on Sunday summoned the nearest NDRF unit to assist the revenue and police officials to bring back Rao to safety. Concerned citizens erected Shamianas all around the towers and fire department spread nets to save Rao from the fall, in case he decided to jump.

Even if the NDRF team succeeded in bringing Sanjeeva Rao back to safety, his act has created ripples in Guntur the state’s capital region.