Oppn blocks highways in Andhra over special status

Thousands of commuters and vehicles were stranded and inter-state travel hit in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday, with the opposition calling for a “national highway blockade” in support of its demand for a special status for the state.

Opposition members blocked all crossings on all major highways including the ChennaiKolkata, Visakhapatnam-Raipur, Vijayawada-Hyderabad and Hyderabad-Bengaluru highway.

The ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which has moved a no-confidence motion against the Modi government after walking out of the ruling alliance, too, backed the 10am-12pm blockade that choked several entry points.

In a teleconference in the morning, chief minister and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu asked party leaders to support the agitation and take part in the blockade.

“If the Centre does not address the genuine demand of the people, it is going to turn into a massive movement in the coming days and shake the government,” said Chalasani Srinivas, the leader of a joint action committee of political parties and citizen groups.

The Pratyeka Hoda Vibhajana Hameela Sadhana Samithi (committee to achieve special category status and promises made in bifurcation act) is an umbrella grouping of the YSR Congress, Congress, Jana Sena and Left parties.

Several student, employee and worker outfits, too, are a part of the committee. The BJP stayed away from the protest.

HYDERABAD: