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Telangana fury is costing AP Rs 800 cr a day
The non-cooperation movement for a separate Telangana has caused a loss of over Rs 2500 crore to the Andhra Pradesh state exchequer.
State officials have estimated the loss at around Rs 800 crore per day due to this non-cooperation movement.
The scenario is, however, not going to get any better in Andhra Pradesh until Parliament introduces the bill for the formation of a separate state.
Political Joint Action Committee chief Professor Kodanda Ram says that there is no way in which this agitation is going to stop.
"This is an exercise to build up pressure and it will not stop at any cost until there is a solution. There will be no violence and we had stated the moment the Shri Krishna Commission report came out that non cooperation would be the only way out in order for our demand to be met," he said.
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2.8 lakh employees are on a strike
At present, there are around 2.8 lakh employees from the Telangana region working in government offices.
These employees are spread over 12 districts, including the city of Hyderabad. All these employees barring the ones from the police department are on strike.
The biggest problem that the government faces is the non-collection of taxes.
State capital Hyderabad, which is also part of the Telangana region, has most number of employees from this region.
Taxes have not been collected at all levels and this is causing a nightmare to the government, which continues to incur losses.
Situation is the same in hospitals, schools, colleges...
The students, on the other hand, are also stepping up the pressure and none of the educational institutions are functional, as the teachers have refused to report to work.
The situation is the same in the hospitals where doctors and nurses in government hospitals too are taking part in this non-cooperation movement.
On the other hand, the people of the Telangana region have been told not to pay bus fares during travel. This trend was started off by Telangana Rashtra Samithi chief K Chandrasekhar Rao who was arrested briefly for doing so.
This trend has caught on among the people of Telangana and they have been defying the system. Initially, some of these persons were arrested, but now the authorities have stopped acting on this.
'The state will witness a financial emergency if...'
Sources in the government say that it is a difficult situation.
"The issue is before the Union government and is up to them to decide. We cannot be too aggressive with these protestors since it will only worsen the situation. We will not even go ahead and suspend the protesting employees, but action could be contemplated against the doctors and nurses since they cannot deny the people of a very essential service," sources said.
All India Congress Committee Secretary P Sudhakar Reddy says that the government has to take a quick decision on this issue since the losses are building as each day passes.
"If the government does not react soon, the state will witness a financial emergency," he said.
Pressure to be built up on Congress, TDP MLAs
The political JAC will meet on Thursday and Friday to decide on the further course of action.
The JAC says that it wants to replicate BJP's successful 2G scam protest. There would be pressure built up on the Congress and the TDP MLAs from the Telangana region to step down. Proceedings in the assembly and Parliament are likely to be disrupted as part of this protest.
The JAC feels that the pressure on these MLAs, especially from the Congress, has to be stepped up. Congress leaders in New Delhi told MLAs from the state that they cannot face any more embarrassment, as the government is already scam ridden.
The MLAs have assured the party high command that they will lie low for sometime until the Union Budget, failing which they have to resort to drastic measures and tender resignations. The MLAs also stated that if there is no action on Telangana, they cannot even return to their constituencies leave alone win another election from the Telangana region.