Hyderabad, Dec 3 (Inditop.com) With the movement for separate statehood to Telangana taking a violent turn, the Andhra Pradesh government Thursday declared a 15-day holiday for all colleges in the region, comprising of 10 districts, including Hyderabad.
All junior and degree colleges will remain closed for 15 days from Dec 4, said an order issued by the state government. The universities in the region have also declared holidays.
Potti Sriramulu Telugu University announced holiday for two days. Osmania University, which was rocked by violent protests, is also likely to extend holidays ending Thursday.
The officials said universities would announce their decision.
The school education department is also likely to declare holidays for schools.
The move to shut down colleges and universities in the region come as the government felt that the students were taking the movement for separate Telangana state into their hands.
The decision was taken after Home Minister P. Sabita Indra Reddy held a meeting with ministers from the region to review the situation in view of the continuing hunger strike by Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao.
The meeting took note of the fact that college and university students were taking part in large numbers in the demonstrations demanding separate Telangana state. It was felt that the police would find it tough to tackle protests by students and that declaring holidays could prevent them from gathering.
Hundreds of students Thursday took out rallies in different parts of Telangana, expressing solidarity with the TRS leader.
Ever since Chandrasekhara Rao launched what he termed ‘fast unto death’ after his arrest on Sunday, the student community has been staging protests. Some private colleges remained shut for the last four days.
The same day Osmania University campus here was rocked by violence. Police had used force against the students, evoking strong reaction from various political parties.
Kakatiya University in Warangal also witnessed massive protests as also four other universities in the region.
The ruling Congress party also felt that allowing students to take part in the movement for separate state could create 1969 like situation when students were in the forefront of the movement.
The violent movement four decades ago had claimed 300 lives, mostly students killed in police firing.
