Dentists go on 48-hour hunger strike for AP

Kurnool: In support to the agitation for a united Andhra Pradesh, the dental doctors launched 48-hour hunger strike here on Wednesday. Resenting the stony silence observed by the Centre though the people have been agitating for the last 43 days, they have decided to observe the hunger strike, the dentists said. They said that the people of Andhra have been fighting for irrigation already with two states and the third state would join in the fray if the state was divided.

They said that the state could be divided after super-specialty courses were introduced in Andhra region.

Employees of electricity department have returned their SIM cards to the superintending engineer expressing anguish over the no response from the centre though the people have been agitating for the last 43 days. Electricity department JAC chairman Umapati said that so far 950 employees have surrendered their SIM cards to the government. From linemen to the DE every employee is participating in the agitation, he added.

All the 2300 employees in the district would also take part in the agitation, he said. The relay hunger strike launched by the advocates have entered 42nd day. Women in the city have been organizing Mahila Garjana with one lakh women, according to Anuradha, vice-president of JAC. She said that women from the city have participated in the freedom struggle and with the same spirit they organizing Mahila Garjana.

Teachers JAC members on Wednesday laid siege to the officer of YSR Congress party here stating that the resignations submitted them were a big drama. They demanded the submission of resignations in the Speaker’s format. Later, they laid siege to the office of BSNL in the city and appealed to the employees to come out of the office to join the agitation. The BSNL employees eventually came out of the office and raised slogans in favour of Samaikyandhra.

Lecturers JAC leaders conducted final rituals to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Digvijay Singh and KCR in protest against the decision to divide the state.

Sales tax department employees staged mock hanging of themselves stating that they would be compelled to commit suicide by hanging if the state was divided. They staged rasta roko at Srikrishna Devarayalu statue and burnt the effigy of KCR there. At Srisailam, in response to the call given by the State JAC of Electricity employees, the power employees were going on strike from midnight on Wednesday, said JAC chairman Nageswara Rao. As a result, the power generation of 770 mw would be affected at the Srisailam Right Bank Hydel station. The agitation launched by the electricity employees has reached 27th day in the 13 districts of Andhra region.

If all the power stations at Vijayawada, NTPC, Prodduturu, Srisailam right bank unit were stopped, there would be disruption to the 4,000 mw power generation, he added. The employees of AP Transco, AP Genco, SPDCL would participate in the agitation, he said.

TDP district president Somisetty Venkateswarlu lambasted the Congress party high command for taking the unilateral decision to divide the state. Congress and YSR Congress have been colluding to destroy TDP, he alleged.

He said that the ministers and MLAs from the district expressed their readiness for Rayala Telangana only to protect their interest in Hyderabad. He predicted that YSR Congress would be merged with the Congress before the general election.