Hyderabad:
Rail services across the Telangana region remain badly hit as the
rail roko by pro-Telangana groups enters its second day today. Hundreds of express and passenger trains and buses are off the road.
The protest has so far brought life to a standstill in Hyderabad and surrounding areas; school students have also suffered because of the strike. Some schools will be holding exams on Sunday.
The agitation is to protest the government's inaction in granting separate statehood to the region. The stir was launched on September 13 by state government employees, crippling the administration.
In these 12 days, the state has suffered a loss of Rs 3564 crore; the
rail roko movement has cost the South Central Railway (SCR) Rs 22 crore. Also, seven lakh agricultural labourers are losing their daily wages and nearly 33 lakh students are missing classes.
Leaders and activists of the Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) squatted on railway tracks at hundreds of places across the region.
Leaders of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Communist Party of India-ML New Democracy protested on the track at Kazipet in Warangal district, the main junction connecting south and north India.
The Railways has also cancelled all 222 local trains (also known as Multi-Modal Transport System) in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad and 102 DHMU (Diesel Hydraulic Multiple Unit) trains in other parts of Telangana.
The SCR authorities have also short terminated, diverted and rescheduled many long-distance trains in the north-south and east-west corridors. The rail link between Hyderabad and rest of Telangana and also between the state capital and other regions of Andhra Pradesh has completely snapped.
All the trains between Hyderabad and destinations like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Guwahati, Patna, Rajkot and Balharshah have been cancelled.
Secunderabad and Nampally (Hyderabad) railway stations - two of the busiest railway stations in south India - wore a deserted look yesterday.
Hundreds of policemen, personnel of railway police and Central paramilitary forces have been deployed at stations to protect railway property.
Meanwhile, over 10,000 RTC buses remained off the roads in Hyderabad and nine other districts of the region on Saturday.
Around 500,000 auto-rickshaws have also joined the 'people's strike' demanding a separate Telangana state.