Hyderabad has become the care of address for protests, bands, rallies, processions and, of course, Rasta Rokos thanks to the on-going all people’s strike which has entered its 17th day today.

There was no distribution of newspapers today across the entire city as hawkers joined the mass general strike to express their support and solidarity to the strike launched by the government employees of the Telangana region demanding the formation of separate Telangana state.

In fact, there was no distribution of newspapers to some remote areas in the city for the last three days but today even the newsstands in the heart of the city went without the display of newspapers.

Hawkers’ rally in Secunderabad

Tension followed in Secunderabad when hundreds of hawkers tried to take out a motorcycle rally from the Clock Tower near the Deccan Chronicle to the Telangana Martyrs’ memorial near the assembly complex.

When the rally started, Telangana political JAC convener Prof. Kodanda Ram turned up and began addressing the hawkers forcing the police to enter the scene. Senior police officers told the hawkers to disperse as there was no permission to their rally and section 144 was in force.

Kodanda Ram asked the police to allow him to address the hawkers for a few minutes but police did not allow the request and arrested him along with some of the hawkers. Later, they took them to the Bowenpally police station.

Hundreds of Telangana agitators rushed to the station and demanded the release of Kodanda Ram and others. Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao also demanded their immediate release.