Commercial establishments observe bandh against expansion of road in Mancherial

Bellampalli town observed a bandh as traders and political parties protested the expansion of the main road, claiming it would harm local businesses. Shops were shut, former and current leaders criticised the work, and police foiled a suicide attempt by an agitating trader

Mancherial: Commercial establishments remained closed as part of a bandh call given against the expansion of the main road in Bellampalli town on Tuesday. Various political parties including BRS and BJP extended solidarity to the protest.

Owners of the establishments called for a day-long closure of shops, grocery outlets and many other businesses protesting against the road expansion. They observed the bandh by voluntarily shutting down the establishments located on either side of the stretch. The owners said the expansion of the road was not necessary. They said the work would have a catastrophic effect on the establishments.

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Former MLA Durgam Chinnaiah alleged that the town was being destroyed in the name of development. He said that local MLA Vinod was affecting the lives of businessmen by deploying civic officials to take up the work. He demanded that Vinod immediately withdraw the development work.

BJP leader Kodi Ramesh said that the expansion of the road was irrational. He pointed out that the town, populated with around 1.50 lakh people, was not witnessing traffic snarls on the existing road measuring 30 feet in width. He wondered how it would see traffic congestion when the population was 50,000. The expansion was not the need of the hour, he remarked.

Businessmen and small-time vendors recently opposed the work by staging a sit-in on the road. They raised slogans against the government and municipal officials. Police foiled a suicide bid by an agitating trader who tried to die by suicide by dousing petrol over his body. They recalled that assurances given to oustees of land were not fulfilled.