Celebrations as India gets new state of Telangana

Celebrations erupted in southern India to mark Monday's creation of the new state of Telangana, the culmination of a campaign stretching back nearly six decades.
      
Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao, who at one stage went on hunger strike as part of the push to create India's 29th state, was sworn in as chief minister during a morning ceremony in Hyderabad.
      
Rao raised the Indian flag, waved to crowds from an open-top jeep and inspected troops during a ceremony at a parade ground.
      
"People of Telangana are looking forward to a progressive and development-oriented state. We will work in that direction and ensure a transparent administration," Rao said, addressing the ceremonial parade.
     
He also vowed to root out corruption and work for the disadvantaged sections of the society.          Residents began celebrating on the stroke of midnight when the state came into being, with a fireworks display lighting up the skies over the city. Crowds took to the streets, waving flags and cheering.
      
Families also gathered near the historic Charminar monument and cut a giant cake to mark the "birthday" of the new state.
      
The roads leading to the Telangana secretariat in Hyderabad were decorated with cutouts of the new chief minister, bright pink bunting and balloons.
      
India's new Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to congratulate Rao, promising his "complete support to the people & Government of Telangana" in a message on Twitter.
      
"India gets a new state! We welcome Telangana as our 29th state. Telangana will add strength to our development journey in the coming years," Modi added.
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