The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : BJP bandh evokes partial response

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Saturday, Mar 15, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

BJP bandh evokes partial response

Staff Reporter

Party agitates demanding that Sonia Gandhi disclose her stand on Telangana statehood

Educational institutions declare holiday
Government offices function with thin attendance

— PHOTOS: SINGAM VENKATA RAMANA and K.V. Ramana

Suspension of activity: Buses stranded in the APSRTC bus depot in Nalgonda (left) while a police constable gets ready to lob teargas against agitators in Nizamabad on Friday.

Sangareddy: The bandh call given by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanding that UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi disclose her stand on Telangana statehood evoked partial response in the district. While the bandh was almost complete in some places, efforts of BJP activists to forcefully close down shops led to tension in other places. In Siddipet, activists pelted stones and damaged four APSRTC buses very early in the morning when the buses were taken out of the bus depot. Following which, no buses were operated from the depot. Events acquired a communal colour when a group refused to shut down their shops in Narsapur. While the two groups were on the verge of a fistfight, the police intervened and resorted to a mild lathi-charge to disperse them. Traffic was affected on National highway nine in Sadasivapet with the BJP activists burning tyres on the highway.

Near total

KARIMNAGAR: The bandh was near total in Karimnagar district.

All the business establishments, shops, petrol-filling stations, cinema halls, hotels, banks and other organisations remained closed. The educational institutions had already declared a holiday.

The RTC buses remained off the road following the bandh as the BJP leaders obstructed the operation of buses in front of all the bus stations in Karimnagar district. The attendance was thin in the government offices including the Collectorate.

In Karimnagar town, the BJP leaders split into several groups and participated in the bandh. They went round the town on vehicles and forced the shopkeepers and others to down their shutters and raised slogans of ‘Jai Telangana’.

Bandh peaceful

ADILABAD: The bandh was partial in the district, there being hardly any effect in the eastern side of the district. Only RTC buses went off the road for some time during the day. At Nirmal, the RTC could not operate even a single service until noon because the agitators had staged a dharna in front of the depot since 4 am. Shops and business establishments remained closed in Adilabad and Nirmal town. In Kagaznagar, Bellampalli and Asifabad, markets were open partially. Private schools did not function in Adilabad and Nirmal.

Train detained

MAHABUBNAGAR: The Telangana bandh went off peacefully in Mahabubnagar district.

The BJP activists have detained the Kurla express for about an hour at Krishna railway station.

Police took into custody over 200 BJP activists including N. Rajeshwara Reddy, BJP State executive committee member.

Cinemas suspended their morning shows. Educational institutions were closed. Government offices functioned with thin attendance.

The BJP activists did not allow the APSRTC authorities to operate their services by squatting in front of bus station gates.

Rally held

NALGONDA: The BJP-sponsored bandh went off peacefully in Nalgonda district. Business establishments including small tea stalls, educational institutions, cinema halls, petrol outlets and the government offices remained closed. Led by the district unit president Goli Madhusudan Reddy, BJP and BJYM activists reached the bus-depot at Nalgonda by 4 a.m. and blocked the roads preventing the playing of buses. The agitators stopped some trains in Nalgonda, Miryalaguda and Bhongir stations causing delay in rail traffic, according to a BJP press release.

“There is no single unsavory incident in the district but we incurred a loss of Rs. 18 lakh due to withdrawal of the services,” the APSRTS Regional Manager Purushottam Naik said.

The saffron brigade took out an impressive rally on motorcycles to mark the bandh.

Effigy burnt

NIZAMABAD: The bandh was total and peaceful in the district.

No untoward incidents or arrests were reported from any part of the district. Since the BJP workers widely campaigned and motivated people several days before the bandh, it was voluntarily observed at many places. In the district headquarter town, the BJP workers and leaders were seen going round and asking shopkeepers to close shutters.

It was total at busy business centers such as Nehru Park, Pedda Bazar, Station Road, Poosalagalli, Weekly Market, Kumargalli and Ganj. Shops and business establishments, hotels, banks, schools and educational institutions remained closed and cinema halls suspended morning and matinee shows.

Transportation came to a standstill and a few passengers were seen waiting for buses hours together. Except autorikshaws no means of other transportation was available due to the bandh.

The protestors, however, spared essential services, hospitals and medical shops and milk supply from the bandh. They took out a funeral procession of Sonia Gandhi’s effigy from RTC bus depot to Nehru Park and later burnt the effigy.

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