JOIN USA man demanding special status for residual Andhra Pradesh as per the assurance given by the then UPA government spent 36 hours atop a BSNL cell phone tower near Pedakakani in Guntur district, threatening to commit suicide if anyone tried to rescue him.
A realtor — Mamilapalli Sanjiva Rao — climbed the tower on Saturday morning after entering the BSNL compound near Auto Nagar.
There was high drama as Rao called up his family to let them know that he has decided to sacrifice his life as Union Planning Minister Indrajit Singh has made it clear that the 14th Finance Commission did not recommend special category status for Andhra Pradesh and, thus, the state would not get the same.
Worried family members then rushed to the tower and tried in vain to persuade Rao to get down.
“Sanjeeva Rao used to work in Hyderabad in the united state. After bifurcation he started to do real estate business. He was upset since Saturday after the news from Delhi was telecast confirming that the AP might not get special status,” one of Rao’s friends told media.
The efforts of the district collector, political leaders and desperate family members made no dent in his determination. “He is there for almost 36 hours and we believe he survived on only a bottle of water in this hot summer. Even if he wants to get down now from the 300-foot high tower, he can’t without assistance,” TDP leader Nannapaneni Rajakumari said.
Guntur district collector Kantilal Dande on Sunday summoned the nearest NDRF unit to bring Rao down. People had erected shamianas all around the tower and the fire department spread nets to save Rao from fall, if he decided to jump. Finally at 9:30 pm on Sunday, Rao climbed down.