Bandh, what bandh?
The bandh called by the YSR Congress party protesting against the state government’s failure in solving the erratic power cuts evoked lukewarm response even as police cracked down on scores of YSR Congress leaders and workers across the state.
The top leaders and workers of YSRC were either taken into preventive custody or kept under ‘house arrest’ since Thursday night.
While life was normal in Hyderabad as commercial establishments remained open and public transports operated normally.
Shops and business establishments worked smoothly. Work in private firms including software companies also remained unaffected.
IMPACT: The shutdown was successful in parts of Rayalaseema but evoked partial response in Coastal Andhra Pradesh and had little impact in Telangana.
Except for Anantapur and Kadapa district where the bandh was complete, all other districts in the state evoked tepid response.
But the YSRC leaders claimed that the bandh was successful across the state as people from all the sections voluntarily participated in the protests.
They alleged that the government tried to suppress their democratic protests using the police forces.
ARRESTS: While several party workers were taken into custody at many places, some top leaders of the party including MLAs Bhumana Karunakar Reddy, Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy, and former MLA Vangaveeti Radha and others were kept under ‘house arrest’ to thwart any untoward incidents.
Those who were taken into preventive custody or kept under house arrest since Thursday night, were let off only after 3pm on Friday.
Police arrested a large number of YSRC party leaders and activists in and around Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Kadapa, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Kurnool, Anantapur and other places for forcibly closing shops, educational institutions and for blocking roads.
In Hyderabad, YSRC spokesman Gattu Ramachandra Rao and other leaders were taken into custody when they tried to obstruct movement of RTC buses.
The party’s youth wing leader, P Pratap Reddy, was arrested at LB Nagar while taking out a rally with party workers.
In Visakhapatnam, YSRC workers staged a protest outside a police station after they were taken into custody as a part of the crackdown against the bandh.
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS and BUSINESSES: Many schools and colleges remained shut after the managements declared a holiday as a precautionary measures in view of the bandh call.
Schools and colleges remained closed in Khammam, Srikakulam, Kadapa, Anantapur, parts of Nellore and Kurnool.
Some schools and colleges in Hyderabad also remained closed.
Shops and business establishments were shuttered in the districts of Rayalaseema.
In rest of the regions, there was feeble response and all shops were opened by afternoon.
EXAMS POSTPONED Examinations scheduled to be conducted for BTech and BPharma courses in JNTU-Hyderabad were postponed to September 4.
Similarly, Dravidian University postponed all undergraduate and post graduate examinations to September 24.
TRANSPORTATION RTC buses remained off the roads since wee hours in many places.
However, the bus services were resumed by 11 am in some places and by 3 pm across the state.
There was no disruption to trains including MMTS as well as private vehicles and auto-rickshaws
YSRC vs POLICE
At several places, YSRC leaders started brawling with the police when the latter obstructed them from enforcing the bandh.
They were prevented from taking out rallies and curtailing vehicular movement.
YSR Congress MLA Dharmana Krishnadas too had a heated argument with the Srikakulam police after his wife and party district convener Padmapriya was taken into preventive custody.
He reportedly got her released from the police forcefully notwithstanding their objection and left the place.
Similarly, a fight broke out between Macherla MLA Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy and the police when the former tried to enforce the bandh in Macherla of Guntur district