Hyderabad, Dec 4 (Inditop.com) Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president K. Chandrasekhara Rao, who is pressing for a separate state of Telangana, continued his fast unto death at a hospital here Friday. The authorities have shut down all the colleges in the region as a precautionary measure.
KCR, as the TRS chief is popularly known, continued the hunger strike for the fourth day. Doctors at Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) said he had become weak.
Doctors said they conducted more investigations on KCR Friday morning. They said while his vital organs were functioning normally the hunger strike had made him weak. Doctors are continuing to administer saline to him but the TRS chief is not taking any food.
With KCR continuing his fast, other TRS leaders and cadre are worried about his health. The Mahabubnagar MP, who is in judicial custody, had said that he would end the fast only if the central government takes a decision on his demand for a separate state of Telangana.
TRS activists, students and sympathisers of the movement are continuing their protests across the region, comprising 10 districts including Hyderabad.
Though the state government has declared a 15-day holiday from Friday for all the colleges including university colleges to prevent protests by students, some districts continued to witness student demonstrations.
The situation remained tense in Osmania University here, which witnessed violent protests early this week.
A youth who had set himself ablaze four days ago to protest KCR’s arrest succumbed to burns at a hospital here Thursday night. K. Srikant, 30, was a student of pharmacy at a college in Hyderabd. Two youths in Nalgonda and Karimnagar districts also committed suicide during the protests.
KCR was arrested Nov 29 by the police near Karimnagar when he was heading to Siddipet in Medak district to launch his fast. He was taken to Khammam, where a court sent him to jail for 14 days. The TRS chief launched the fast in jail and was shifted to a government-run hospital the next day. He, however, broke the fast the same day saying he did not want people to lose their lives.
Angry reactions by the sympathisers of the Telangana movement forced KCR to resume the fast Tuesday. He was shifted to Hyderabad early Thursday.
rounak