Hyderabad, December 30: Amid various forms of protests, the Telangana bandh, called by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) to press the Centre for announcing a specific time schedule for creating separate Telangana state, progressed peacefully, disrupting normal life in Hyderabad and nine other districts in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh today.
Scores of Telangana leaders, including JAC Convenor Professor Kodandaram, senior Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leaders T Devender Goud and Nagam Janardhan Reddy and senior Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) leader N Narasimha Reddy, were taken into preventive custody when they marched towards the RTC cross-roads, defying prohibitory orders. The JAC leaders staged a ‘dharna’ in support of statehood for Telangana at the Gandhinagar Police Station.
Shops and business establishments, educational institutions, government and private offices and cinema halls remained closed.
While Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) withdrew over 8,000 bus services, the South Central Railway (SCR) cancelled 165 trains, including 46 Express, 87 Passenger and 32 MMTC suburban trains, leaving the passengers stranded. Autorickshaws also remained off the road in most of the places. Pro-Telangana activists blocked vehicular traffic on arterial roads, including the Machilipatnam-Pune National Highway at several places including Adilabad bordering Maharashtra. Over 2,000 trucks were stranded at various places on the Highway.
Curfew-like stituation prevailed in Hyderabad and other places, with only personnel of para-military forces and State Armed Police in riot gear standing in front of key central and state government offices, including the State Secretariat and Raj Bhavan.
——-Agencies