VIJAYAWADA: The Bharat Bandh call given by Dalit organisations in protest against the Supreme Court’s decision to amend the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act evoked partial response in Andhra Pradesh. Dalit organisations and activists took out rallies and staged ‘rasta roko’ protests at various places across the State.
In Krishna district, Dalit organisations led by YSRC leaders staged protests in Machilipatnam, Pedana and Bantumilli. Buses were stopped for some time. YSRC party leader Perni Nani and 57 leaders of Dalit organisations were taken into police custody when they tried to stop RTC buses at Machilipatnam bus stand. In Bhimavaram and Eluru of West Godavari district, YSRCP, Congress, and Dalit organisations took out a protest rallies and formed human chains. When they tried to stop buses, they were taken into custody and were released later in the evening.
In Rajamahendravaram and Kakinada of East Godavari district, similar protest rallies were taken out. Left leaders staged rasta roko on NH 16 for some time at Lalacheruvu of Rajamahendravaram. In Guntur district, protests were staged in front of Ambedkar Statues in Mangalagiri, Repalle and Gurajala.
Similar protests were staged in Kurnool, Kadapa, Prakasam, Nellore, Chittoor, and Anantapur. In Tirupati, Dalit organisations formed human chains while in Anantapur, post office and BSNL office were forcefully closed. However, there were no reports of any untoward incidents.