Andhra chief minister faces power cut in Telangana heat

The striking employees of the electricity department in Telangana have threatened to cut power supply to the houses and offices of Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and other ministers in Hyderabad.

As the indefinite 'people's strike' demanding separate statehood to Telangana entered the 12th day Saturday, the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of electricity employees said they would resort to power cuts if the government failed to respond favourably to the demand.

JAC leader Raghu said in Warangal that in the second phase of the ongoing agitation, they would cut electricity supply to the chief minister's house.

The chief minister is already facing the heat of the strike at the state secretariat -- the seat of governance. For the second time in three days, he entered the secretariat through the rear gate Friday as the striking employees blocked the main gate.

Meanwhile, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has alleged that the chief minister is resorting to witch-hunt against Telangana by imposing indiscriminate blackouts on the domestic and agriculture sectors in the region.

TRS legislator Harish Rao said for the last three days, farmers in Telangana were not getting even two hours of electricity while villages were being supplied power only during night.

"If the government imposes power cuts due to power shortage, it should be uniform across the state but that is not so. Injustice is being done to Telangana even at a time when the movement for a separate state is at its peak," the TRS leader said.

He alleged that crops in Telangana region were wilting due to lack of proper power supply. He threatened to lay siege to the houses of ministers if the seven-hour supply to farmers was not restored.

The government earlier this week imposed power cuts as the continuing strike in Singareni Collieries paralysed coal production and affected the generation at thermal power stations.