Disruption of trains troubles passengers
A protest was staged in favour of Kapus at Krishnalanka.
Vijayawada: Vijayawada, which was once the hub for Kapu movement, was relatively calm on Sunday even while violence erupted at the Kapu Garjana held at Tuni. People and the officials in the city heaved a sigh of relief with no untoward incidents being reported from any area.
However, a group of people staged a protest demonstration at Krishnalanka on the Chennai-Kolkata national highway raising slogans seeking inclusion of the Kapu caste in the BC list. The protest continued for sometime but traffic was not disrupted.
People were inconvenienced due to disruption of train services due to halting of trains after the Ratnachal Express was torched. There was no movement of trains between Vijayawada and Vizag. Railway officials could not give any information about when the services would be restored. However, after a few hours the railway department set up help line cetnres.
Leaders of various political parties also maintained silence over Kapu Garjana fearing it would lead to unnecessary trouble as it was a sensitive issue. Vangaveeti Mohana Ranga’s son and former MLA Vangaveeti Radhakrishna refused to comment on the Kapu Garjana meeting. His followers said that Mr Ranga was a responsible leader and so did not want to stoke any sentiments.
Meanwhile, CM N. Chandrababu Naidu held an emergency meeting with his Cabinet colleagues and officials following the violence at Kapu Garjana. DGP J.V. Ramudu and other officials are monitoring the incident. The DGP instructed the officials to deploy additional forces from Vizag and Kakinada at Tuni.
Train number 17488 Visakhapatnam – Tirupati Tirumala Express and Train no. 18047 Howrah – Vasco –Da- Gama Express was regulated at Tuni station. Besides, Train No. 12845 Bhubaneswar – Bangalore Cantt Express was regulated at Gullipadu, Train No 12839 Howrah – Chennai Central Mail was regulated at Narsipatnam Road, Train No. 12861 Visakhapatnam – Hazrat Nizamuddin Link Epress was regulated at Yelamanchali, Train No.17239 Guntur – Visakhapatnam Simha-dri Express was regulated at Hamsavaram and Train No. 57225 Kakinada Port – Visakhapatnam Passenger was stopped at Ravikampadu station