HYDERABAD: The rail roko programe at various places in the city became a conglomeration of various facets of the Telangana culture. With music, dance, plays and a sumptuous Tlunch, Manoharabad railway station, one of the hotspots, wore the look of a weekly fair.
Big groups, small groups, students' groups, teachers' groups, women's groups and childrens' groups all who vowed for a 48hour rail roko, marched into the station. Some brought the Telangana Rashtra Samithi banner, few others held the BJP flag and the rest displayed their own banners, all united for the cause of a separate Telangana state.Among them was eightyyearold Savitri who came along with her daughterinlaw. She did not have an idea about what she was doing there but was more than happy to accompany her daughterinlaw. Chintu, a class III student knew exactly why he was there all his friends had come and he didn't want to be left behind. He was thoroughly enjoying his break, he said, adding he knew they wouldn't let him go hungry at the protest site. He had come to enjoy the day out with his friends.
Among the children was Sandeep, a class IX student, who was more aware of the facts of the Telangana agitation. He brought together all children present there, teaching them slogans hailing Telangana. He has heard several speeches of T leaders and he felt if he wanted a job after he grew up, he had to take part in the agitation. The adults seemed to have taken a backseat in the early part of morning as they prompted their kids to shout slogans. The kids picked it up soon, waving flags given to them and choosing their favouritecoloured ones.On being asked about the effect the agitations would have on students, Siddipet Private Schools Management Association member Ravi said he was confident the teachers would complete the syllabus before the annual exams in March. "Look at it this way. We protest and if we are able to get a separate state, our students will get better jobs. So this time is an investment, not a waste," he observed. TRS leader and MLA Harish Rao who led the protest, S Gopi, BJP district general secretary, K Gonaiah, National Fisheries Federation director, Thotla Swamy Yadav, OUJAC chairman and other leaders repeatedly demanded the TTDP leaders should resign from their posts and actively take part in the agitations. They also expressed displeasure that salaries of government employees on strike was being cut and demanded the state government provide their complete salaries. They emphatically expressed they wouldn't give up the agitation until a separate state was carved out. "If not a rail roko, we will protest in some other form. But we will not give up," Harish Rao said.On the railway tracks near Tellapur, another group of protestors gathered, who were addressed by TRS leader Vijayashanti. It was a smaller group with around 500 activists as compared to nearly 3,000 at Manoharabad. As the sun shone brighter, the protests cooled down and people lay down on the tracks for a siesta. Villagers walked in to witness the protests and hung around to be part of the grand affair. Towards the evening, even womenfolk who took a break from the chores, dropped in to the venue.
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