HYDERBAD: Amid mounting street demonstrations and violence, 20 state ministers resigned today to protest India’s decision to carve a new state out of its southern region of Andhra Pradesh.

Trouble erupted after the federal government in a surprise move on Wednesday agreed to give in to an 11-day hunger strike by a senior politician, K Chandrasekhara Rao, who demanded the creation of the new state of Telangana out of the vast state of Andhra Pradesh. Supporters of

the new Telangana state have complained their area in the north was underdeveloped and ignored by powerful politicians from southern Andhra Pradesh. Demands for a separate state have erupted sporadically since the 1950s.

Protesters burned or damaged 25 buses and other vehicles and disrupted train and bus services today. Shops, businesses and schools were closed for the day, a police statement said.

Three major towns - Anantpur, Chittoor and Nellore - were hit by the violence and police rushed in reinforcements, it said. The region is about 400 km south of Hyderabad, the state capital. Columns of black smoke rose from a warehouse set ablaze by demonstrators in Anantpur, police said. The 20 ministers who resigned said they wanted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government to reverse its decision to bifurcate the state.

Nearly 140 lawmakers have stepped down over the past two days from the state legislature. “We want Andhra Pradesh state to remain united,” said Ramanarayana Reddy, one of the ministers who resigned.

Rao said,”There will be no turning back on Telangana.”