For the second consecutive day, normal life was disrupted in several districts of Andhra and Rayalaseema regions following the bandh called by political parties and Samaikyandhra Parirakshna Samiti to protest the approving of the draft bill for creating Telangana State.
The bandh made its impact felt in Anantapur, Chittoor, Kadapa and Kurnool, while it was slightly less in parts of coastal Andhra. In most places, leaders of the Telugu Desam and YSR Congress took out rallies and several were arrested by police.
Most Government offices were closed as employees signed the attendance register and went back home, while banks and insurance companies too, downed shutters.
In Kadapa, several YSRC leaders, including women were taken into custody when they staged a dharna before the Collectorate, while integrationists led by the Joint Action Committee of Educational Institutions in Kurnool disrupted a meeting convened by the BJP, protesting its stand for smaller States.
In Prakasam district, TDP and YSRC leaders and cadres forced the closure of shops and establishments in Ongole, Chirala, Kandukur, Kanigiri, Markapur and Giddalur. Film actor and Telugu Desam leader Murali Mohan was taken into custody at Rajahmundry when he staged a rasta roko on the highway.
In Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam cities, life was near-normal, with the exception of Government offices and banks, which did not function. In Visakhapatnam, members of the YSRC took out a motorcycle rally.
TDP MLA Devineni Umamaheswara Rao, former MP Gadde Ramamohan and others demonstrated outside the bus station in Vijayawada, disrupting bus operations for over two hours. Services were resumed after the agitators left the place. The APSRTC reported a mere three per cent operations of buses in Anantapur and Kadapa districts, while it was about 70 per cent in other Seemandhra districts, according to Executive Director-Operations, G.V. Ramana Rao.
