With the Congress-ruled states of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra at each other’s throats over the Babli barrage project, the former has been witnessing protests by the Opposition Telugu Desam Party as well as the ruling party.

On Monday, the five “affected” districts of the Telangana region observed a total bandh following a call by the Congress. Most schools, colleges, and businesses remained closed in Nizamabad, Adilabad, Karimnagar, Warangal and Nalgonda districts. Congress workers forced shops in Adilabad districts to shut and even allegedly attacked a few business establishments that tried to open. Public transport and trains were also stopped.

The party called the bandh after Maharashtra refused to stop construction of the Babli barrage. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement that he had directed Union Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz to find an “amicable solution” to the dispute has failed to deter Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. In fact, he reiterated the state’s intention to go ahead with the project. “We are following the Central Water Commission’s guidelines in this regard,” Deshmukh clarified.

Angry Congress workers staged demonstrations across the state and set fire to effigies of Deshmukh. “The barrage is a project within a project. It will leave the Sriramsagar empty and change Northern Telangana into a desert. It must be stopped,” said AP Major Irrigation Minister P Lakshmaiah. Reacting to Deshmukh’s statement, Lakshmaiah said Andhra was left with no choice but to bring up the matter before the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court took up the issue after Madhu Yashki Goud, the Congress MP from Nizamabad, filed a petition asking it to stop Maharashtra from going ahead with the project. Soon Andhra government filed a petition, which the SC clubbed with the earlier one. The case is up for hearing on May 25.

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