Title - Curfew still on in Vizianagaram, 34 held - Trains on the Vijayawada-Gudur-Renigunta route, Kazipet-V

Vizianagaram/Hyderabad: Curfew was imposed in Vizianagaram town in coastal Andhra after violent attacks on the property of transport minister Botsa Satyanarayana, and shoot at sight orders were issued on Sunday.

Police arrested 34 people for arson and rioting in the town. Four of those arrested are said to be outsiders, two of them from Srikakulam. The town remained tense on Sunday as the united Andhra protesters hit the streets in the morning despite the curfew and pelted stones at policemen and targeted the Satya Institute of Technology and Management College in Gajularega, run by a relative of Satyanarayana.

IGP D. Tirumala Rao said, “The situation is almost under control. The locals, unaware of the implications of the curfew are coming onto the roads.”

Extra forces brought into Vizinagaram

“In the morning there were incidents of hurling stones on police in Vizianagaram. We have an adequate number of forces stationed in the city. Efforts are on to impose the curfew totally,” IGP D. Tirumala Rao director general of police B. Prasada Rao said extra forces have been brought into Vizianagaram town. “There is no major violence in the town. An additional 35 companies of paramilitary forces are on their way.”

Agitators were out in force in Kothapeta, Palliveedhi, Kota Junction, Dasannapeta, Kanyakaparameswari temple and other areas of Vizianagaram town on Sunday morning. The police had to fire rubber bullets in the air at Kothapeta, Gajularega and Palliveedhi and used smoke shells. Normal life was paralysed in Vizianagaram town.

Around 4,500 police and paramilitary forces sealed areas such as Korada Street, Sivalayam Street, Three Lamps area, Clock Tower, where Satyanarayana’s house and those of his relatives are located.

All shops including medical stores, restaurants and cinema theatres shut down for the third consecutive day. Vizianagaram and surrounding area were cut off from other parts of the region as no one is being allowed into the town and all vehicles are being checked.

Some women staged a protest by squatting on the railway track, alleging that they were lathi-charged by the police when they were doing their routine work in their homes.

There were complaints of excessive use of force by the police in order to safeguard the properties and houses of Satyanarayana, who people believe pushed for the division of the state for selfish reasons.

Tirumala Rao said that the relaxation of curfew will depend on the situation.

Power cuts: Around 30,000 electricity employees are on an indefinite strike in the Seemandhra region, which began immediately after the 48-hour strike ended. The strike has hit power generation  in coastal Andhra and also transmission across the state. AP has lost close to 4,000 MW of power due to the strike.

The Southern grid has been threatened and therefore the large-scale power cuts imposed across the state. “Apart from the Srisailam Right Bank losing total generation, even generation from the Left Bank has gone down to 300 MW from 900 MW due to switching off of supply to Anantapur and Kurnool. The total hydel generation has come down substantially from the 35 MU to 40 MU on Saturday,” said director (hydel) APGenco, G. Adhisheshu.

Hospitals: Elective surgeries in district hospitals of Seemandhra have come to a halt due to the agitation in the state. Only emergency services and deliveries of  pregnant women are being attended to by the doctors and paramedical staff.

On emergency duty,  on orders of the state government,  doctors and paramedical staff cannot  go on strike. But to register  their protest, they shout slogans in the mornings and at lunch time. Although there was no rush of patients in  the hospitals on Sunday, the administration claims that the situation will deteriorate if the situation continues as withholding elective surgeries for long can be harmful to the patients.

Trains: The South Central Railway (SCR) has been badly affected by the indefinite strike of electricity employees. Forty trains have been cancelled and several others diverted as power supply to the railways has been cut off. Train services in Vijayawada have been completely halted.

Trains on the Vijayawada-Gudur-Renigunta route, Kazipet-Vijayawada route, and the Vijayawada-Gudur-Tirupati route have been cancelled. Priority has been given to the smooth running of long distance mail and express trains which link the north and south, and east and south, traversing via Vijayawada and Guntakal divisions of SCR. No long distance express trains was cancelled or diverted till 6 pm on Sunday, according to SCR officials.