Hyderabad: The bandh called by TRS in the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh, to oppose move to create Rayala-Telangana, evoked good response on Thursday in the city while the shutdown was near-total and peaceful in Telangana districts, police said.
"As many as 524 agitators were taken into preventive custody from different parts of the city," city Police Commissioner Anurag Sharma said, adding, that the over all situation was peaceful.
However, tension prevailed in the Osmania University (OU) campus here when pro-Telangana students pelted stones on security personnel who responded by lobbing tear gas shells.
Pro-Telangana lawyers boycotted court and the main gate of the Nampally court here remained closed even as another group barged inside the Gandhi Bhavan premises the headquarters of state Congress.
Angered over not being allowed to take out rally, protesters forcibly tried to break through the barricades on the OU campus and also poured petrol and set on fire some of the barricades.
Normal life was affected in the city as well as at the Telangana districts due to suspension of RTC bus services even as educational institutions, business establishments remained closed.
As a precautionary measure large number of police personnel were deployed at various places.
"Shops were closed in most parts of the city, however, traffic movement was normal," police said.
The situation was incident-free in Telangana districts with statehood supporters taking out rallies and holding demonstrations.
The bandh was by and largely total and peaceful in Ranga Reddy, Mahabubnagar and Nalgonda districts and no untoward incident was reported from any part of these districts, DIG (Hyderabad Range) Navin Chand said.
Government offices witnessed thin attendance and schools, colleges, shops and cinema halls remained closed till afternoon while buses did not operate at many places in these districts, he said.
According to DIG (Warangal Range) M Kantha Rao the bandh was total and peaceful in Warangal and Khammam districts.
"The RTC buses kept off the roads. Educational institutions and business establishments in many parts of both the districts remained closed," he said adding pro-Telanagana activists took out rallies and formed human chains on the main roads of almost all the towns in the region.
The bandh was called by TRS and other pro-Telangana organisations against reported proposal of bigger Telangana which entails splitting Rayalaseema region and adding two of its four districts to the ten districts of proposed Telangana state. Rayala Telangana envisages adding Anantapur and Kurnool districts to the proposed Telangana.
Some pro-Telangana activists allegedly threw tomatoes on the convoy of YSR Congress chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy near Rajendranagar here when he was on his way to his residence in Jubilee Hills here.
