Stepping up pressure on the UPA Government, pro-Telangana supporters on Sunday undertook a novel protest by organising collective cooking programmes at key traffic junctions here and threatened to intensify the stir if their demand is not met.

“It is a practice to conduct collective cooking and community lunches in open areas in Telangana during the monsoon.

We have converted this into a form of protest to express our demand for separate Statehood,” Telangana political Joint Action Committee (JAC) Convener, Mr M. Kodandaram, told reporters at the Gun Park in front of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly building here.

‘Vanta vaarpu'

During the protest named ‘Hyderabad Cooks On Roads', activists of TRS and the JAC cooked food on streets at various important places here.

Hundreds of people from all walks of life set up kitchens on roads, cooked food and ate it. Men joined hands with women in preparing breakfast and lunch at several places in the city and the outskirts.

While various groups made arrangements on a massive scale for cooking food, families set up small kitchens with gas stoves.

The TRS President, Mr K Chandrasekhar Rao, participated in one such protest near his house in Banjara hills and also at the Gun Park.

His son and TRS MLA, Mr K.T. Rama Rao, attended the programme at Ameerpet while his cousin and MLA, Mr T. Harish Rao, took part in the protest at the Hi-Tech City, where a number of reputed software companies have their offices.

Mr Kodandaram said, “We have already asked the public representatives of ruling Congress and TDP to quit their posts by June 25.

If they don't, we will hold protests in front of their houses in Hyderabad as they are taking shelter in the city, unable to face pressure from people in their constituencies.”

He said the agitation will be intensified by launching protests such as road blockades and strikes.

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