The statehood strife returned to Andhra Pradesh once again today. But this time, the baton of agitation switched from Seemandhra to Telangana. Protests erupted across the 10 districts of the Telangana region and state capital Hyderabad over the UPA’s reported plans to create a larger Rayala Telangana state. Thousands, including students and employees, spilled on to the streets to stage a variety of protests.

Political circles in both Delhi and Hyderabad are agog over reports that the Group of Ministers preparing the Draft Telangana bill has almost finalized the proposal for the creation of Rayala Telangana. The latest plan entails reconstitution of Andhra Pradesh to create a larger Telangana with the merger of two Rayalaseema districts, Kurnool and Ananthapur.

Also read: Telangana: why Kiran Reddy says don't divide AP

Taking serious exception to the hybrid state plans, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the Telangan Joint Action Committee (TJAC) called for a Telangana bandh tomorrow. The protest is aimed at sending a stout message across to the Congress and the UPA ahead of a crucial cabinet meeting tomorrow evening.

The region was back into the agitational mode as spontaneous protests erupted all across since this morning. Students of Osmania University in Hyderabad led the stir with a rally from inside the campus. Tension prevailed at the varsity entrance after the students were stopped in their stride by a heavy posse of police.

Doctors of Gandhi Hospital came out on to the streets to stage a rastaroko and raise slogans against the UPA. Activists of the TRS, led by Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao’s (KCR) son K Taraka Rama Rao, staged a dharna at Gunpark in Hyderabad. Addressing his partymen, KTR warned the Centre with a fresh bout of intensified agitation if it failed to give up its new-found obsession for Rayala Telangana.

In Medak district, student wings led a spate of rallies that were held across the district including the district headquarter town of Sangareddy and Siddipet. Joining the protests, lawyers announced a three-day boycott of courts in protest against the proposed plan.

In Mahaboobabad of Warangal district, students and JAC leaders enforced a spontaneous rail roko (halt). As a result, movement of trains on the Secunderabad-Vijayawada route was badly hit. The police swung into action and arrested the agitators, which sparked off tension for a while.

Rallies and sit-ins have also become the order of the day across Karimnagar district. Workers of Singareni Collieries in Godavari Khani turned up for work wearing black badges.