Telangana row: AP strike paralyses normal life; buses, autos stay off roads

Hyderabad: Life remains crippled in about half of Andhra Pradesh including Hyderabad as about 8.5 lakh staff members of various government departments and other allied agencies have been striking work seeking statehood for Telangana.

Normal life in 10 districts of Telangana has almost come to a halt with public transportation going off track.

About 10,000 buses plying on the roads of Telangana have remained in bus depots and the inter district transportation has come to a halt. Even the auto rickshaws remained off the roads and petrol pumps remained partially closed on Saturday. 

With the Telangana joint action committee calling for a two-day “rail roko” from Saturday, the public transport link between South and North India is likely to remain muted.

Over 200 trains scheduled for Saturday and Sunday in Telangana were cancelled in view of the two-day rail blockade called by Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) to demand separate statehood for the region, authorities said on Thursday.

According to a statement from South Central Railway, 55 express and 88 passenger trains have been cancelled.

The railway authorities have also partially cancelled 63 trains, including 33 express trains. They have diverted 55 trains and rescheduled four, which pass through the region.

The rail blockade has also led to cancellation of all 222 MMTS (Multi-Modal Transport System) services in twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad and 102 DHMU (Diesel Hydraulic Multiple Unit) trains in other parts of Telangana.

The workers at Singareni Collieries, one of the biggest coal assets in South India, have been on a strike for 11 days affecting coal supplies to several power generation units in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. The impact of drop in coal supply is already being felt with generation dropping in many state-run units.

Meanwhile, the JAC is now working on further intensifying the strike. “The 11-day strike seems to have not shown any impact on the Centre. We have no option but to take up militant movement for achieving statehood to the region. That does not mean we will take up violent movement,” M Kodandaram, chairman of the JAC, said.

The strike is, however, having a major impact on the political equations in the state.

Congress and TDP MLAs and MPs from Telangana now find themselves pushed to a corner. While the Congress leaders are still not able to get the nod of the high command to join the movement, TDP leaders are not being accepted by the people of Telangana.

The TDP is accused of playing a “double-game” by fielding its leaders in both Andhra and Telangana by supporting two different slogans - separate Telangana and united AP.

Chandimal played a mature innings: Udawatte

Hyderabad: Ruhunu Eleven captain Mahela Udawatte was all praise for his batsmen especially Dinesh Chandimal, who played a key role in the side's four run win against Leicestershire in Champions League T20.

"He is our key player. After Sanath (Jayasuriya) and I got out early, he played a mature innings," Udawatte said at the post-match press conference

Chandimal smashed unbeaten 62 runs off 51 balls to help the team score 160 in 20 overs.

The skipper of the team from Sri Lanka said after losing two early wickets, the batsmen ensured that they play full 20 overs.

"We had to work hard for it. It was not a matter of fortune," he remarked when asked if his side was fortunate to score a win.

"He is our main batsmen. These kind of things happen. We played a practice match earlier and he batted very well in that," the Ruhunu captain said when asked about the failure of Jayasuriya.

"160 runs were chaseable. We should have probably won the match. It is very disappointing," said Leicestershire captain Andrew McDonald.

"It is pretty tough to play two games and then walk home when you start getting used to the conditions," he added.

Leicester, which needed 29 off the last five overs, could score 156 in 20 overs.

Champions League T20: Eden matches shifted to Hyderabad, Bangalore

Kolkata/Hyderabad: Four matches of Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) have been shifted from Eden Gardens to Hyderabad and Bangalore due to monsoon rains lashing Kolkata almost daily.

The Group B matches on September 25 and 27 will now be played at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, which is currently hosting the qualifying round matches, while the September 29 match involving Royal Challengers and a team from the current qualifier, will be played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.

"Following a discussion between Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and the Champions League Twenty (CLT20), the CLT20 Governing Council has today decided to move matches from Eden Gardens to Hyderabad and Bengaluru, pending approval from local authorities," a statement from CLT20 organisers on Tuesday.

Two matches will be played on Sep 25 at Hyderabad. The first match will be between Warriors and South Australian Redbacks while two qualifiers will clash in the second match. The match on Sep 27 will feature South Australian Redbacks and one of the qualifiers.

"With regret and in the best interests of the tournament, CAB and CLT20 have reluctantly agreed to moving its four scheduled Group B matches away from Eden Gardens due to the heavy rains that have deluged Kolkata," said Jagmohan Dalmiya, CAB President.

Former cricketer Azharuddin's son, Ayazuddin, passes away

Hyderabad: After being on ventilator and life support for the last five days,  son of former cricketer and Moradabad MP Mohammad Azharuddin, Ayazuddin has died in Apollo Hospital in Hyderabad.

Ayazuddin was grievously injured in a road mishap.

The nineteen-year-old Ayazuddin had sustained critical injuries after a sports bike, which he and his cousin Ajmal-ur-Rahman (16) were riding, skidded off the road at Puppalguda on the Outer Ring Road here last Sunday. Ajmal had died the same day.

Ayazuddin was being continuously monitored by a multi-speciality team round-the-clock. His vital parameters were being maintained with the help of a life support system.