Shoot-At-Sight Orders In Vizianagaram, Curfew In Andhra

By Rajita Kumar / Guntur

Curfew has been imposed in Vizianagaram town and other parts of Seemandhra with police given the orders to shoot at sight in the wake of large-scale violence by anti-bifurcation agitators, police said here. Vizianagaram, a town in coastal Andhra, has been roiling since the Union Cabinet's decision to create the state of Telangana out of the existing state of Andhra Pradesh.
"Lot of violence was reported, with the protesters indulging in arson, setting a bank on fire, and damaging public and private properties. In view of the violence, authorities ordered a curfew late last night," Dwaraka Tirumala Rao, IGP (North Coastal Zone), said.

People have been directed not to come out on the roads without permission. The curfew would be in force till further orders, the IGP said, adding that decision on relaxation will depend on the situation. "We are ensuring that there is no movement of public on the roads," he said.

Additional forces have been deployed in the town which has witnessed widespread violence since Thursday. Andhra Pradesh Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayna's house in the town was attacked on Friday.

Some policemen were injured during last night's incidents, Rao said.

The 48-hour bandh called by Andhra Pradesh Non-Gazetted Officers Association got over last night. The situation in Seemandhra, overall, was under control, the IGP said.

Anti-Telangana protests hit power supply in Andhra Pradesh
Meanwhile, an indefinite strike launched on Sunday by electricity employees of Rayalaseema and the coastal region of Andhra Pradesh hit power supply in six districts of the state and also forced the railways to cancel train services.

Hundreds of villages in six coastal Andhra districts plunged into darkness as the electricity employees went on an indefinite strike to protest the Centre's decision to create a separate Telangana state.

Seemandhra electricity employees' Joint Action Committee (JAC) said over 30,000 electricity employees were participating in the strike in Seemandhra, as Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions are collectively known.

The indefinite strike began after an earlier 48-hour-long strike ended on Sunday to protest the union Cabinet's decision to bifurcate the state.

The strike has hit power generation in a couple of major plants in coastal Andhra. The South Central Railway (SCR) on Sunday cancelled seven passenger trains between Vijayawada and Renigunta. The cancelled train services include Vijayawada-Ongole, Guduru-Ongole, Tenali-Guntur and Tirupati-Guduru.

JAC chairman R. Sai Baba announced that there would be no exemption to emergency services like hospital, water supply and agriculture.

He said the strike would continue till the Centre takes back its decision to bifurcate the state.


The strike may affect electricity generation and supply not just in the 13 districts of Seemandhra, but may also hit transmission in Hyderabad and other parts of Telangana region. The strike may also hit the southern grid as all four southern states -- Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu -- are inter-linked.