Hyderabad, Oct 6 (IANS) With the general strike in Telangana continuing in support of a demand for a separate state, the central government has summoned Andhra Pradesh Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan to New Delhi to get first-hand information about the situation in the region.


The governor will be leaving for the national capital Friday and will call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday, official sources said.

Narasimhan is likely to submit a detailed report to the prime minister and brief him about the situation in the state, especially the impact of the strike by government employees, teachers, transport and coal workers in Telangana.

The governor was Thursday asked to rush to Delhi amid reports that the centre was concerned over the situation in Telangana, where the 'people's strike' entered 24th day.

The strike has paralysed the administration, transport, education and coal production in the state-owned Singareni Collieries, badly affecting electricity generation at thermal stations.

The governor has been summoned at a time when the centre proposes to intensify the consultation process to find a solution to the vexed problem of Telangana.

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is in-charge of the party affairs in the state, had Wednesday stated that a second round of consultations on the issue would begin after Dussehra.

The centre also appears concerned over apprehensions that the ongoing agitation for a separate state might take a violent turn.

Leaders of Telangana groups, who called on the prime minister in Delhi earlier this week, have ruled out withdrawing the strike without a clear-cut assurance from the centre on carving out a separate state.

Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC), which is spearheading the Telangana movement, is going ahead with road blockade in the region on Oct 9, 10 and 11.

Violent incidents were reported during last four days with the protestors blocking and damaging private buses coming to Hyderabad from coastal Andhra region. A couple of private buses were also set afire on the outskirts of the state capital.