During his last visit to New Delhi, chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy reportedly assured his high command he would not let the Telangana Sadak Bandh be a success. Come the day, he kept his word.
Unlike earlier Telangana agitations like the Million March, Sagaraharam or Samara Deeksha, TJAC’s Sadak Bandh Thursday ended up as a damp squib.
Except a road blockade for a couple of hours at Palmakul on the outer fringes of the city, police did not allow Telangana activists to stop traffic on the national highway to Bangalore. Barring stray incidents of damage to the window screens of a couple of vehicles, Sadak Bandh was incident-free with police arresting hundreds of activists and scores of party leaders as they came on the scene.
The two-hour blockade at Palmakul in Ranga Reddy district was all that the TJAC had to crow about.
Traffic on the highway was much less than normal anyway as motorists avoided the road fearing trouble and RTC cancelled its services on it.
The day started with leaders of TJAC and its constituent parties, including the TRS, BJP and some of the Left parties, making vain attempts to block traffic.
At the last picketing point chosen by TJAC, the toll plaza at Alampur, former Mahabubnagar MP P Jitender Reddy, TRS MLAs E Rajender and Jupally Krishna Rao were taken into preventive custody and the peace of the place was not disturbed.
Protesting their arrest, TJAC chairman M Kodandaram and MLC K Swamy Goud and others reached the place and squatted on the road. They too were whisked away. To protest their eviction, a group of Osmania Students students and ABVP activists reached the place.
There was a little tension for some time as police caned the students and there was some jostling.
TRS MLA K T Rama Rao and TDP rebel MLA K Hareeshwar Reddy were arrested at Annaram much before they could reach Jadcherla. At Palmakul, TRS MLA T Harish Rao, Telangana Jagruthi leader Kavitha and hundreds of Telangana activists hunkered down on the road from 9.30 am to 11.30 after which the police swooped down and the protest folded up.
Police sources said the protest was allowed as the traffic was not disrupted.
‘’Traffic to Kurnool was diverted from the Outer Ring Road, and similarly vehicles coming from Kurnool were diverted at Timmapur, just a short distance from Palmakul, and there was no disruption of traffic,’’ a police officer said.
There were stray incidents of violence. A couple of vehicles were damaged at the Alampur toll plaza while BJP activists pelted stones on cars at Annaram.
Mahabubnagar superintendent of police D Nagendra Kumar said nearly 700 activists including 13 MLAs and MLCs were taken into custody across the district.