The bandh call given by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) protesting the alleged police oppression of the ‘Chalo Assembly’ rally evoked little response in the capital on Saturday.
While things were normal in Old City, shops and business establishments remained closed in some pockets where TRS activists went around appealing to people to support the bandh. RTC buses were operated normally though the number of services on some routes connecting the Osmania University campus were less.
Auto-rickshaws plied as usual. MMTS trains, which did not operate on Friday, conducted services on all three routes.
The Cyberabad police took into custody as many as 551 persons and registered cases against 33 for forcible enforcement of bandh.
Travellers hit
Services at some Regional Transport Offices (RTO) on the city fringes were hit on Saturday due to the bandh.
Party activists staged demonstrations at Uppal, Nagole, Medchal and Ibrahimpatnam RTOs, forcing the authorities to suspend transactions, including learners licence test, for the day. Transactions that were not carried out on Friday will be held on Monday, Ranga Reddy Deputy Transport Commissioner C. Ramesh said. District buses from the north Telangana region arrived late at Jubilee and Mahatma Gandhi Bus stations. Fearing damage, the RTC authorities suspended services to various Telangana districts, resulting in a loss of nearly Rs. 50 lakh.
Though 90 per cent of city buses were operated, the authorities claimed poor seat occupancy ratio, which left a dent of an additional Rs. 50 lakh on the RTC Greater Hyderabad zone.
The South Central Railway authorities claimed that all MMTS and local trains were operated according to schedule. Several school and college managements declared holiday for their institutions.
Meanwhile, commercial establishments, malls and petrol pumps remained open during the day.
