The bandh called by the TSRTC Joint Action Committee was partial in former united Adilabad district on Saturday as markets opened in the afternoon. The impact of the bandh on the TSRTC operations itself was total as only a few buses on hire could be operated under heavy police escort.
No temporary driver or conductor, who were operating the buses during the last few days of the strike, showed up despite the presence of police. Some 20 buses on hire with the TSRTC were operated in Mancherial, 19 in Nirmal and two in Bhainsa depots. Even private passenger vehicles could not operate on a scale usually witnessed during bandhs as the travelling public had apparently modified their schedule in view of the bandh.
There was heavy police deployment near the bus depots and bus stations at Adilabad, Utnoor, Nirmal, Bhainsa, Mancherial and Asifabad to prevent agitators from barging into the depots. The police also arrested several leaders of opposition parties and their student wings to prevent them from reaching the bus depots.
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In Adilabad, early morning rainfall stopped the opposition parties from coming out to the depots. There was drizzle of varying intensities across old district.
The shops remained closed at markets usually open in all major towns between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Petty businesses like tea kiosks and milk vends and vegetable markets were, however, open.
The impact of the bandh was also seen in interior areas and even in Agency areas of Adilabad and KB Asifabad district thanks to the Adivasi Hakkula Porata Samithi or Tudum Debba and BJP supporting the bandh. There was no dislocation of passenger movement in the interior areas as most of the routes are better served by private vehicles than RTC buses.
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