Vijaywada is one of the major sites of anti-Telangana protests.
The crisis in Andhra Pradesh's Vijayawada, one of the major sites of stiff opposition to Centre's plans to create Telangana, intensified further today with the closure of a power plant in the city, which falls in the Seemandhra region.
Power supply in at least six of the 13 districts in Seemandhra - as the coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema areas are jointly known - has been critically hit as all but one of the seven units of the Vijayawada Thermal Power Station are closed, with its employees protesting against the bifurcation of the state.
Apart from Vijayawada, the neighbouring districts of Eluru, Guntur, Machlipatnam and East and West Godavari districts are also facing power crisis. The 1260 MW-capacity station provides about 120 MW power to Hyderabad as well, which is set to be a joint capital between the two states for 10 years.
The loss from the closure of the plant is estimated at Rs 10 crore everyday. The authorities say since the protesters are present at the station, it is unlikely that power generation will resume soon.
There is total shutdown in Seemandhra today with shops, schools and offices closed.
Congress MP from Vijayawada, L Rajagopal, has said he will move the Supreme Court challenging the government's decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh, announced last evening after the Union Cabinet approved a Home Ministry note on creating India's 29th state.
The Congress governments at the Centre and in Andhra Pradesh are already bracing for the fallout of the controversial decision, with three Union ministers K Chiranjeevi, Pallam Raju and Kotla Surya Prakash Reddy having resigned since last night. None of the resignations have been accepted so far.
In Andhra Pradesh, Congress lawmakers from Seemandhra have decided not to quit and instead prevent a resolution in support of Telangana in the state assembly. The assembly has 294 seats with 119 falling in Telangana and 175 in Seemandhra.