KHAMMAM: The Khammam-to-Hyderabad `maha car rally' planned by the Opposition parties to press their demand for allocation of Rs. 2,500 crore for the Dummugudem and Rudramkota lift schemes did not take off here on Thursday as the police sealed all the roads in the town. They took important leaders — expected to lead the rally — into custody and dispersed the crowd.

The parties then embarked on what they called a `maha padayatra.' TDP district president and former Minister Thummala Nageswara Rao, CPI(M) central committee member and MLA Thammineni Veerabhadram, CPI (ML-New Democracy) leader and Yellandu MLA Gummadai Narsaiah led the rally which began at 5 p.m.

The padayatra would cover the 190-km distance from Khammam to Hyderabad in six days.

Some 400 persons joined the padayatra, but the number kept swelling till it crossed the Munneru river bridge. The situation in the town was tense because of the heavy police presence.

The Opposition leaders feared that the police might stop the padayatra before it crossed the district border. The police on Wednesday night stopped the Hyderabad-bound car of CPI(M) leader and Bhadrachalam MLA Sunnam Rajaiah in the temple town.

As the action triggered protests, the police arrested TDP leader Tummala Nageswara Rao at Kallur. CPI(M) district secretary P. Sudharshan was also taken into custody along with other party leaders in Khammam. However, all of them were released later.

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