BURNING ISSUE: BJP senior leader Bandaru Dattatreya taking part in a dharna opposing petrol price hike at Hanamkonda chowrastha in Warangal on Tueday. -- Photo: M. Murali

KHAMMAM: All the political parties barring the Congress organised protests in a big way in the district on Tuesday opposing the hike in the prices of petrol and diesel. Vehicular traffic was disrupted at different places, including Khammam, Wyra, Tallada and Kothagudem due to the protests, which evoked overwhelming response at all the places.

The Telugu Desam Party organised a protest rally with bullocks in the front denouncing the Government decision to raise the price of diesel and petrol. Some 30 persons, including party leaders Potla Ageswara Rao, M. Baby Swarna Kumari, Madar Saheb were arrested by the police during the protest programme. S. Venkata Veeraiah, former MLA and TDP district secretary, said that the protests would continue indefinitely.

Rail roko organised

The hike was steep and people were in no mood to accept the decision, they said. The CPI(M) organised similar protests all over the district. Led by party leaders Erra Srikant and A.J. Ramesh, the protestors took out a rally from the party office to the Mayuri centre. They chanted slogans denouncing the hike and squatted on the road near Mayuri centre, stopping the vehicular traffic for more than half-an-hour.

The CPI organised a rail roko in the town condemning the hike in petrol prices. They stopped the Tirupati-bound Krishna Express for a while. The railway police quelled the protesters. Some 150 of them were arrested on the occasion. CPI national council member T. V. Chowdhury also took part in the protest. Addressing the protesters, he said that the UPA Government had increased the prices of diesel and petrol for about six times during the past two years.

Novel protest

The CPI(ML New Democracy) also organised protests in the town and 12 other centres in the district protesting against the hike. The party workers took out a rally pulling motor vehicles with ropes all along the main road in the town.

New Democracy leader P. Ranga Rao said that the Government had other options to make up for the loss in petrol and diesel prices.

The party presented a memorandum to the revenue authorities seeking a review of its decision to hike the prices.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail