Mixed response to T bandh

• It was total in districts; State capital sees partial shutdown
  
• RTC services hit; Activists pelt stones at BJP office in Hyd

Hyderabad: The day-long bandh in Telangana to protest against the passage of a Bill to transfer seven mandals in Khammam district to Andhra Pradesh saw a mixed response in Hyderabad, while it was total in the districts on Saturday. The bandh passed off peacefully, according to Inspector General (North Zone), Ravi Gupta.

The response from the people to the bandh was voluntary. Business establishments, government offices and schools remained closed as it was second Saturday. Public transport was affected as RTC buses were confined to the depots. Inter-district operations were badly affected. While normal life in Telangana was hit, in Hyderabad, the response was a mixed one. Normal life was paralysed in Karimnagar.

In Adilabad, Telangana protagonists sat in front of bus depots during the early hours and obstructed RTC buses from plying. Effigies of Narendra Modi, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu were burnt across the State. In Khammam, the Congress party organised a rally from bus stand to collectorate in the town The bandh, called by the TJAC, was supported by CPI, CPI (ML-New Democracy), TRS and the Congress party. The CPI workers took out a bike rally in Warangal and Hanamkonda towns in support of the bandh. In Hyderabad, Telangana Jagruthi activists and Telangana lawyers staged protest in front of BJP state headquarters in Nampally. They tried to barge into the party office and even resorted to stone pelting. The activists were later arrested by the police.

The T activists also put up barricades before the Jubilee bus station and MG Bus station and prevented the buses to come out of the depot. The IT industry in Hyderabad heaved a sigh of relief as the bandh was observed on a Saturday which happens to be a holiday for the IT sector.