Hyderabad:
The Central government has sent security forces to help keep the peace in Andhra Pradesh as the state gears up for the verdict on whether it will be bifurcated.
But those in charge of Andhra Pradesh's public buses aren't taking any chances. Over the last year, buses were targeted in demonstrations both for and against the creation of a new Telangana state. 900 buses were damaged, costing the Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation 188 crores. So now, protective grills are being added to the buses that travel through areas known to be the preferred turf of protestors.
"Osmania University area is our major operating route. We have incurred huge losses particularly on that route," says Jaya Rao, the Executive Director of the Road Transport Corporation.
The Srikrishna Committee will present its report on statehood for Telangana to Home Minister P Chidambaram before Friday. The committee was set up in February to reconcile the aggressively different opinions on whether a new state is needed.
The Hyderabad Police Commissioner confirms that 18 companies of paramilitary forces have been brought into the city. That hasn't gone down well with leaders from Telangana, including Congress men who are pushing their government to oppose this. "If you are bringing in the Central forces, it is only to provoke people and to create a scare and that is why we are opposing it," said Keshava Rao, a senior Congress leader.