A complete bandh was observed in many areas of the Old City on Tuesday in protest against the remand of Majlis president Asaduddin Owaisi by a Sangareddy court on Monday.
Unlike Monday when there was a forceful closure of shops and commercial establishments across the old city, a voluntary bandh was observed today.
Shops remained closed since morning in the residential areas as well as the main thoroughfares in Santoshnagar, Rein Bazaar, Kalapather, Shahalibanda, Aliabad, Falaknuma, Riyasatnagar, Bahadurpura, Kishanbagh, Dabeerpura, Yakutpura, Aghapura, Mallepally, Nampally, Mehdipatnam and Tolichowki areas for most part of the day.
Markets at Charminar, Pathergatti, Madina building, Laad Bazaar and Motigalli wore a deserted look with most shops remaining closed.
However, a few shops opened in the evening while hotels catered to the public through back doors.
“Every time it is the poor who are made to suffer. Either it is the Majlis activists or the police who ask us to keep the shops closed. This has been happening for the last three months,” complains Mukheed Ahmed, a cloth trader.
Public utilities like ATM centres, petrol pumps and banks also remained closed. While many private schools declared a holiday, the APSRTC suspended bus services to the interior areas fearing damage to their vehicles.
A group of youngsters burnt the effigy of Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy at King Koti.
Students of Government Degree College for Women (Hussaini Alam) boycotted classes in protest.
