Hyderabad, February 24: The 48-hour bandh of Telangana was complete on the second day too on Wednesday and peaceful save for stray incidents of stone pelting by students at Osmania University campus.
Life was paralysed in the city, barring old city, as the entire public transport system came to a grinding halt while all commercial establishments remained shut. It was also near normal in Gachibowli and Madhapur with several IT and ITES firms functioning and usual traffic jams were experienced.
In most other parts, shops that used to be opened in the afternoon on a bandh day continued to be shut this time because many sections of business and workers associations along with political parties had joined hands with the Telangana Political Joint Action Committee to make it total.
All places of entertainment, educational institutions and private factories were shut down. At many localities fuel filling stations did not open till 6 p.m. on Wednesday. Autorickshaws did not ply much and bus services were cancelled.
Trunk roads otherwise bus wore deserted look. OU campus, which witnessed clashes between students and police for past two days, was calm till evening even as students took out rallies and staged demonstrations demanding introduction of Telangana Bill in the Parliament.
Tension prevailed for a while when a large group of students ransacked rooms of some student JAC leaders at the research scholars and old PG hostels. This was in reaction to a couple of leaders allegedly beating up a student who confronted them about detention of fellow students by the police.
Trouble broke out towards the evening when police caned students burning effigies of MPs hailing from Andhra and Rayalaseema. Irate students began hurling stones prompting police to fire tear gas shells. Student JAC leaders, Marri Anil, Rajaram Yadav and Kiran, who led the protestors, were arrested.
-Agencies