The chambers of commerce and industry in the nine coastal districts and Rayalaseema (four districts) in Andhra Pradesh have decided to observe a bandh on Friday in protest against the decision of the Congress Working Committee and the UPA to bifurcate the State and form Telangana.
According to K. Ramabrahmam, President, Vizagapatam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the decision was taken by all the chambers in these districts, as trade circles would have to suffer heavy losses in the event of bifurcation of the State. He said all sections - employees, students, intellectuals and the trade and industry - were agitated over the ill-advised decision of the CWC and the UPA and it should be reconsidered and revoked.
He said bifurcation would lead to all sorts of problems - river water issues, the loss of capital city for the people in the 13 districts, additional tax burden for the consumers, and loss of educational and employment opportunities for the youth.
The trade bodies would meet the Chief Minister and apprise him of their stand on the issue. He urged the traders to co-operate with the chamber and keep their establishments closed on Friday in protest against the Government's decision.
In another press release, V. Bhaskara Rao, the general secretary of the Vijayawada Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the annual earnings of the state from commercial taxes was about Rs 47,000 crores, of which the coastal districts and Rayalaseema contributed Rs 13,000 crores, the Telangana region (excluding Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy) Rs 7,000 crores and Hyderabad & Ranga Reddy Rs 27,000 crores.
"Of the Rs 27,000 crores realised in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy district (the Hyderabad metropolitan region), more than 80 per cent is contributed by traders from the coastal districts and Rayalaseema. Now, if Hyderabad is made the capital of Telangana exclusively, the lion's share will go to that region and the other two regions will suffer irreparable loss, even though they have contributed most to the development of the capital city. Nothing can be more unfair and unjust," he argued.