Hyderabad: Rail traffic in Telangana region was badly affected on Thursday as supporters of separate statehood demand, disrupted trains across the region since morning.
Raising pro-Telangana slogans, the activists of TRS, BJP, TDP and others squatted on the railway tracks at various places in the region.
"We demand that the Centre immediately announce formation of Telangana state with a time-frame. We believe the Centre has started moving by holding some consultations. We want concrete steps," Telangana political Joint Action Committee (JAC) convener M Kodandaram told reporters at Ghatkesar railway station.
Senior BJP leader and former Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya and other party leaders were taken into custody at the Secunderabad railway station here when they tried to hold the rail blockade.
"Government cannot suppress the Telangana agitation by arrests and other such measures. UPA government should immediately accept the statehood demand," Dattatreya said.
TRS MLA D Vinay Bhaskar and the party workers conducted rail roko in Warangal district.
The protesters stopped Kakinada-Hyderabad Goutami Express in Warangal district in the coastal Andhra.
State minister Thota Narasimham, who was travelling in the train, faced the ire of the protesters when he left for Hyderabad by road.
The vehicle, in which he was travelling, suffered damage when the protesters allegedly attacked it.
The protesters were angry over the agitation in non-Telangana regions in support of united Andhra Pradesh.
The South Central Railway (SCR) has already announced cancellation, partial cancellation, diversion and rescheduling of several passenger trains, local trains and inter-zonal trains in view of the 'rail roko'.
According to an SCR release on Wednesday, as many as 116 passenger trains have been cancelled while other trains including cross-country inter-zonal trains (plying across Telangana region for July 14) would be either cancelled/ partially cancelled/diverted/ rescheduled and regulated.
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