Telangana limps back to normalcy

After a month-long agitation for statehood, the restive Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh limped back to normalcy on Tuesday with the reopening of schools and colleges and resumption of coal production at the state-run Singareni mines.

After a month-long agitation for statehood, the restive Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh limped back to normalcy on Tuesday with the reopening of schools and colleges and resumption of coal production at the state-run Singareni mines.

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However, courts remained closed as lawyers continued to strike work.

Some 5.2 million students returned to classrooms as more than 40,000 educational institutions opened their doors and around 200,000 teachers returned to work.

The government directed schools to take extra classes to make up for lost time.

The institutes reopened after consultations with the Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC), which is spearheading the statehood agitation across 10 districts of Telangana.

TJAC convener M Kodandaram also negotiated a settlement with Singareni Collieries Company, bringing the 35-day-long workers' strike to an end.

Coal production is expected to reach the pre-strike capacity of 1.5 lakh tonnes a day in a couple of days. This will be a relief for Andhra Pradesh as well as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Goa and Puducherry, which have been reeling under power shortage.