Bandh over special status paralyses life in Andhra Pradesh

HYDERABAD: A day-long bandh called by opposition parties on Tuesday to protest against the denial of special category status to Andhra Pradesh by the Centre disrupted normal life in the state.

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According to reports from various districts of the state, the bandh evoked a positive response, with all private educational institutions voluntarily declaring a holiday and nearly poor attendance in government schools and colleges due to lack of public transport.

The state-run road transport corporation buses remained confined to the depots as activists of various opposition parties locked up the gates and staged dharnas in front of the depots.

Commercial and business establishments in major cities such as Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Rajahmundry, Guntur, Nellore and Tirupati, also downed their shutters in support of the bandh.

Police arrested hundreds of activists of YSR Congress, the Congress and the Left parties on Tuesday morning as they were taking out rallies and staging protests in front of bus stations in different parts of the state.

In Guntur, YSR Congress MLA from Mangalagiri Alla Ramakrishna Reddy was arrested as he and his party activists obstructed the movement of buses operating from Guntur to new secretariat complex at Velagapudi in Amaravati. Traffic on the ChennaiKolkata national highway came to a standstill for over two hours with the YSRC and the Congress workers blocking the road.

In the temple town of Tirupati, former MLA Bhumana Karunakar Reddy was arrested for blocking the roads leading to famed Tirumala temple. The bus services to the hills were restored later.

Police also arrested YSR Congress’ MLA from Chandragiri, Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy, when he was taking out a rally in Tirupati.

YSR Congress MLC Veerabhara Swamy, along with party workers, staged a protest outside an APSRTC depot in Vizianagaram town and the MLC was later taken into preventive custody, I-Town Sub-Inspector G Venkataraman said.