Title - Seemandhra students lead agitation on second day

VIJAYAWADA: The student community in Seemandhra region is raging against the bifurcation of the state. For the second day on Thursday they enforced bandh, which was by and large peaceful.Two more students made a bid on their lives in Kadapa in protest against bifurcation of the state. YSRCP students' wing leaders Ravi Kumar Reddy and Pavan Kumar Reddy doused themselves in petrol and tried to set themselves on fire at the district Congress party office, leading to commotion. However, the alert police foiled their attempts.The students raised slogans against UPA and Congress governments. All the districts in Seemandhra region were shut down following the agitations and protests against the bifurcation. Students raised slogans against UPA and Sonia Gandhi.Congress leaders are worried as students are targeting the statues of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi in the region.

In view of Samaikyandhra agitation at Dharmavaram, South Central Railway diverted train No. 15016 Yesvantpur-Gorakhpur Express on Thursday via Tumkur, Bellary, Guntakal, and Secunderabad.

Though medical education minister Kondru Murali warned of serious consequences if protestors targeted the statues of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, the students demolished at least two statues of Rajiv Gandhi in his home district Srikakulam.

Students in Anantapur burnt photos of Rajiv Gandhi at Clock Tower centre. in a move to take on UPA chief Sonia Gandhi for granting the statehood to Telangana region

Under pressure from the students, the public representatives too are coming out of their shell and joining protests. Students in Acharya Nagarjuna University (ANU) boycotted the classes as part of their 72-hour long bandh. JAC leaders met varsity vice-chancellor K V Rao and urged him to suspend classes and work in support of their agitation.

The situation in Rayalaseema region is very sensitive as youngsters are resorting to angry protests and are targeting police personnel. As educational institutions declared holiday, the students were at the forefront of the agitations. Universities became hotbeds as students from all organizations hit the streets. The APSRTC authorities could not ply services due to the students' agitations.

As RTC buses remained in depots in most of districts, passengers from rural areas had difficulty reaching their destinations. The students in Vijayawada city organised massive rasta roko near Benz circle resulting in traffic going haywire on the national highway.

Workers in Autonagar too shut down foundries and joined the protests. The local chamber of commerce extended its solidarity to the ongoing agitation and pledged to support Samaikyandhra movement in all forms. With students and NGOs staging dharna near RTC depot, the city buses too did not ply.

The protestors staged dharna in front of minister K Parthasarathy's residence demanding his resignation. Former minister Devineni Nehru of Congress, YSRCP leader Goutham Reddy and TDP leader B Umamaheswara Rao attended the political JAC meeting organised by Kolanukonda Sivaji and promised to join the agitation.

The agitators reached bus depot in Guntur in the early morning and requested the authorities not to ply the services. An hour later, protestors attacked a bus carrying the passengers from the bus stand and broke the windowpanes. RTC hurriedly suspended all the services immediately after the attack and the staff joined the protest wearing black badges.

The employees of Guntur municipal corporation (GMC) resorted to 48-hour strike and boycotted the duties. The agitators staged rail roko at Tanuku of West Godavari district and halted Simhadri Express for about half an hour. Entire village of Tatipudi in Vizianagaram participated in the funeral procession of home guard T Srinivasa Rao, who committed suicide to protest the bifurcation of the state. The villagers staged rasta roko on Sringavarapukota-Vizianagaram highway before the funeral.