As the Sakala Janula Samme or the separate Telangana agitation entered the 13th day on Sunday, the 48-hour 'Rail Roko' that started on Saturday has crippled all 10 Telangana districts. 58 trains were cancelled, and many others were delayed, diverted or rescheduled.

In these 12 days, the state has suffered a loss of Rs. 3564 crore, the rail roko movement has cost the South Central Railway (SCR) Rs. 22 crore. Also, seven lakh agricultural labourers are losing their daily wages and nearly 33 lakh students are missing classes. Hundreds of policemen, personnel of railway police and Central paramilitary forces have been deployed at stations to protect railway property. Meanwhile, over 10,000 RTC buses remained off the roads in Hyderabad and nine other districts of the region on Saturday. Around 500,000 auto-rickshaws have also joined the Sakala Janula Samme or general strike as it is called, demanding a separate Telangana state.

Buses have been off roads for days now and auto rickshaws too have gone on a 48-hour strike to support the movement. The Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission examination was being held as planned and the government was trying to organise special buses to ferry students to the exam centres. The only respite for Hyderabad was that petrol stations will be open.

With completely paralysed public transport including local trains, power cuts and civic administration hit, citizens in Hyderabad are gearing up for tougher days. With no political solution in sight soon, the agitation is only getting bigger. Congress MPs from Telangana, meanwhile, are expected to meet the state incharge Ghulam Nabi Azad in New Delhi on Monday to re-iterate their demand for a separate state.