Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Stray incidents mark bandh in Telangana region

Protest mode: TRS activists deflating an RTC bus as part of their bandh programme in Karimnagar town on Saturday.

HYDERABAD: Stray incidents of burning of buses marked the bandh called by the Telangana Rashtra Samiti across the 10 districts of the region.

While an RTC bus of the Hanamkonda depot was burnt at Godavarikhani, a private bus was set ablaze in Medak district, five buses were damaged in Mahbubnagar district. A former MLA, E. Ravinder Reddy was arrested when he staged a ‘rasta roko’ near Sadashivnagar in Nizamabad. Activists of the TRS were arrested when they staged a ‘rasta roko’ at the RTC Crossroads here as were women when they tried to storm the Secretariat.

In Warangal, the bandh turned violent with TRS activities attacking two APSRTC buses and one private bus belonging to a school. In another incident in Narsampet, furious mob damaged a petrol bunk which was open.

A report from Nalgonda said the bandh was near total and peaceful. Agitators damaged glass panes of five RTC buses in Choutuppal, Suryapet, Narketpally, Miryalaguda and Cherlapally. The TRS activists tried to attack a bank in Bhongir which continued its operations.

In the twin cities, 322 people were taken into preventive custody. Most private educational institutions had already declared a holiday.

The bandh was by and large, total with the exception of Hyderabad and Khammam. It was called to express resentment against Congress MPs from the region not doing their bit to pressurise the Centre to take up the issue of a separate State before the trust vote on July 22.

Party MLA T. Harish Rao at a press conference late in the afternoon termed it a success.

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