TRS shutdown over Polavaram hits Telangana

 President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday  signed an ordinance to hand over seven mandals in Telangana to Seemandhra, which is a successor state of Andhra Pradesh.

Life was hit in the region after Telangana Chief Minister designate and TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao has called the bandh on Thursday in the 10 districts of the 29th state of India.

The shutdown affected life most in the districts with no public transport plying and shops and establishments remaining closed.

Several exams were postponed.

Polavaram Project is a multi-purpose irrigation project which has been accorded national project status by the central government.  This dam across the Godavari River is under construction located in West Godavari District and East Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh state and its reservoir spreads in parts of Chhattisgarh and Orissa States also.

It is likely to displace lakhs of people though and cause submergence.

Rao has reportedly appealed to all businesses and educational institutions to shut down operations on Thursday to voluntarily oppose the proposed merger.

The move to bring an ordinance on merging 136 villages in seven mandals of Khammam district was decided by the previous Congress-led UPA government at the Centre

The new state of Telangana has 119 Assembly seats and 17 Lok Sabha seats.

Rao is scheduled to take oath as the first Chief Minister of Telangana on June 2, when the state will start functioning as a separate entity.

President Pranab Mukherjee on Mar 1 signed the Telangana Bill paving way for the formation of the 29th state of India.