Parties hold separate protests : Bandh fizzles out due to scorching heat

Tirupati: The State-wide bandh called by the Left and other parties was peaceful and partial across Chittoor district on Tuesday. The bandh evoked good response from pilgrims, passengers and local people till noon, but it fizzled out due to the summer heat after 12.00 noon. Though the parties took part in the bandh, they protested individually rather than collectively.A TDP leaders Gali Muddukrishnama Naidu, Chadalawada Krishnamurthy, Chittoor MP Dr N Siva Prasad, including the local leaders from the Left Parties, BJP and YSRCP leaders, participated in the bandh individually. MLC D Tippa Reddy was arrested by the police in Madanapalle. However, no single violent incident was reported in Chittoor district and the bandh was peaceful. Tirupati MLA Bhumana Karunakar Reddy was the first person in Tirupati to participate in a protest in front of RTC bus station. He explained to the passengers, who were on platforms waiting for first buses, about the State-wide bandh call and urged the drivers and conductors not to operate the buses. He squatted on the road at busiest traffic point, Purnakumbham Circle, at 6.00 am and blocked the entire traffic. All RTC buses entering the temple town from long distances were forced to stop at several points and were prevented from entering the town at various points like Ramanujam Circle, Sankarambadi Circle, Leela Mahal Circle, Tummalagunta and other points. He gave instructions to local party cadres to exempt the emergency services like ambulance, vehicles carrying perishable goods, two-wheelers and employees from bandh. Former minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, TTD Trust Board former member OV Ramana and a few other YSRCP leaders joined Bhumana and raised slogans against the government. TDP leader Gali Muddukrishnama Naidu participated in a protest near RTC Bus Station. Similarly, the TDP took out a bike rally in the town and urrged the shop keepers to shut their shops voluntarily in support of the bandh call given by the parties. Tirupati TDP In-charge Chadalawada Krishna Murthy and town leaders took part in the protests. BJP leader Bhanuprakash expressed unhappiness over the government's decision to increase the power tariff. The CPI and CPM toured the town on motor cycles and closed down the shops forcibly. The Left parties blocked the road and entire traffic at Ambedkar statue near RTC bus station. At Purnakumbham circle, the protesters played cricket till 11.30 am as the entire traffic was blocked. Due to scorching summer heat, the protesters returned to their homes. Hence, the bus services resumed by 12.00 noon. Majority of the shops were reopened in the afternoon.

Low turnout atA Srikalahasti temple Srikalahasti: The bandh effect was significant on pilgrims at Srikalahasti temple on Tuesday. Normally there will be more pilgrim rush on Tuesday in this temple, which is famous for Rahu-Ketu prayers. But due to the bandh call, the influx of pilgrims at the temple was very low and the same impact on local business. The Rahu-Ketu prayers will be more on every Tuesday when compared to other days in any week. But with the bandh observed by political parties, the RTC bus services were affected a lot and pilgrims faced lot of problems in reaching this temple. According to temple officials, 1630 Rahu-Ketu prayers were registered for Rs 300 tickets, 228 for Rs 750 ticket, 325 for Rs 1500 ticket and 14 for Rs 2500 ticket. As the pilgrims reached this temple by Monday night, this number was below the normal. The average number of Rahu-Ketu prayers on Tuesdays is about 2000, 700, 500 and about 70 respectively. The bus services from Tirupati and several other places to Srikalahasti were almost zero till 12 noon and hence the low turnout at this temple. The same could be seen in Kanipakam temple also.