By IANS,
Hyderabad : In what is claimed to be India’s longest human chain, thousands of people in Telangana Wednesday joined hands to press the demand for statehood to the region.
Under the banner of all-party Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Telangana, people belonging to various sections of society formed a 500-km-long human chain, demanding that the central government immediately initiate the process of formation of Telangana state.
Men, women and children were part of the human chain on National Highway-7 from Adilabad to Alampur.
JAC convenor M. Kodandaram told reporters that the human chain was formed in six districts –Adilabad, Nizamabad, Medak, Ranga Reddy, Hyderabad and Mahabubnagar. “It is the longest human chain formed in the country so far,” he said.
The movement of vehicles on the national highway was not affected as the JAC had appealed to people not to disrupt vehicular traffic.
The police did not allow the JAC to form the human chain in Kukatpally neighborhood here, where a major chunk of people from Andhra region of the state resides. JAC leaders alleged that police were creating problems during a peaceful protest.
Leaders of main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) participated in the human chain on Tank Bund but the leaders of the ruling Congress were conspicuous by their absence.
Kodandaram, however, told reporters that the Congress was still a part of the JAC and felt the leaders of all parties should participate in the protests.
Muslims, including burqa-clad women, supporting the demand for separate Telangana, participated in the human chain at the historic Charminar.
The human chain was part of the week-long protests by the JAC to demand the central government to immediately initiate the process for formation of Telangana state. The committee has already set Feb 7 as the deadline for the central government to make an announcement, failing which legislators, cutting across party lines, from the region would resign, it said.
Kodandaram said as part of the protest, people will cook and eat food and play various games on Hyderabad-Karimnagar and Hyderabad-Warangal highways Thursday.