‘Sakala Janula Samme’ today

Rajahmundry: The APNGOs of Rajahmundry have called for ‘Sakala Janula Samme’ – complete bandh in Rajahmundry and surrounding areas – on Thursday. APNGOs’ president Geddada Haribabu said that representatives of Chamber of Commerce, advocates, Rajahmundry unaided colleges, schools’ association, professionals, Muslim minorities, churches, chemists and druggists and all other Joint Action Committees (JACs) would be participating in the bandh.

Mr Haribabu told reporters that they had applied for police permission to stage dharna round-the-clock by blocking the road from the District Court to Puskhar Ghat with thousands of NGOs. He further said the NGOs would spend the entire night on the roads organising various programmes protesting against the assault on Katta Satyanaryana Raju, Commercial Tax employee, while returning from Hyderabad after attending the APNGOs’ meeting held at LB Stadium in Hyderabad on September 7. They would also pay tributes to B Sankar Yadav, ZP High School teacher of Naidupeta in Nellore district, who died of cardiac arrest during a meeting on Tuesday.

The NGOs organised ‘Bhikshatana’ (begging) programme under the leadership of G Haribabu, Vidyasagar, Venumadhav, Raju and Revathi in different places in the city on Wednesday. The NGOs said they had taken up the programme in support of the ongoing agitation and wanted to intensify agitation until the Union Home Ministry stopped the process of bifurcation of the State.

Heated arguments took place between some employees of the Rajahmundry Central Jail and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leaders who visited the prison on Wednesday when the latter tried to distribute flowers and sweets to them. Jakkampudi Vijayalakshmi, YSRCP central committee member, along with Guthula Muralidhar Rao and others, met A Narasimha, DIG, Prisons, K Newton, superintendent of the jail, and offered sweets and flowers. Then they sought permission to meet prisoners from Telangana lodged inside the prison. The prison authorities brought a few Telangana prisoners to the entrance with the escort of jail warders who also hailed from Telangana. When YSRCP leaders offered sweets and flowers, only three prisoners accepted them. Tension prevailed when Telangana employees took on YSRCP leaders and categorically stated that they should be posted in Telangana immediately. Later, the jail superintendent intervened and pacified his staff and convinced the leaders to leave the place.

TDP senior leader Gorantla Butchaiah Chowdary, along with other leaders, performed ‘Abhishekam’ with milk to a huge idol of Lord Siva at Pushkar Ghat on Wednesday with the help of a crane. A large number of TDP leaders, including city president Vasireddy Rambabu and SC cell president K Naveen, were present.