By IANS,
Hyderabad : Even as people in Telangana Thursday celebrated the announcement to initiate the process of giving separate statehood to the region, those opposing the move in Andhra and Rayalaseema regions came out on the streets in protest.
Students and activists of political parties in the two regions staged protests against the decision of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to divide the state.
After 11-days of massive protests across Hyderabad and nine other districts of Telangana and the fast-unto-death by Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao, it is now the turn of two other regions to witness demonstrations.
The Andhra region comprises nine coastal districts while the Rayalaseema region consists of four districts bordering Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
At S.K. University in Anantapur district of Rayalaseema region, students took out a rally, clashed with police and damaged several buses. They raised slogans against the Congress leaders. Tension prevailed in Anantapur as protestors also blocked vehicular traffic on the Hyderabad-Bangalore national highway.
Students of Andhra University in Visakhapatnam also staged a protest against the move to divide the state. Similar scenes were witnessed at Nagarjuna University in Guntur.
In Vijayawada city of the coastal district of Krishna, protestors blocked vehicular traffic.
Students of Osmania University and other universities in Telangana region had played a key role in the 11-day agitation.