69% Appear For Group 1 Mains

Barring a few incidents of violence, the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) on Sunday conducted the Group I Mains examination peacefully across the state on Sunday, under tight security.

Despite objections raised by pro-Telangana groups, and the total shutdown in Telangana due to the ongoing general strike, the examination went off peacefully at centres in both Hyderabad and Warangal districts.

However, some advocates tried to stall the examination at the L B Nagar centre in Hyderabad, but their attempts were foiled by the police.

The strike of buses, trains and auto-rickshaws failed to prevent Group-I aspirants from reaching the examination centres, in both Hyderbad and Warangal.

While 69.45% of the candidates who applied appeared at Hyderabad centres, the turnout percentage was 69.60 in Warangal.

In Vijayawada, there was a 70% turnout, and the figures were 68.4 in Tirupati and 69 in Visakhapatnam, according to an official of APPSC.

Altogetherm out of 10,500 aspirants, nearly 69% took the exams on Sunday.

The APPSC had issued the Group I notification in 2008, and another supplementary notification in 2009. The preliminary examinations were held in 2010.

In Hyderabad, the RTC operated 326 special bus services to the exam centres from various places, with police escorts.

Elaborate security arrangements were made at all the centres in the Telangana region.

Telangana lawyers, however, attempted to disrupt the examination at Mahatma Gandhi College in L B Nagar. The police foiled their attempts and took them into their custody.

In the L B Nagar limits, the APPSC conducted examination at 3 colleges. Out of 1,800 aspirants, only 900 candidates attempted their examination at this centre.

Meanwhile, the Telangana Lawyers' Joint Action Committee moved a house motion in the High Court, appealing to defer the Group I examination.

The High Court is likely to take the matter up on Monday.

In the motion, the Lawyers' JAC appealed to the court to conduct the examination for those who qualified in the preliminary examination with cut-off marks.

Meanwhile the police took into custody 15 members of the Kakatiya University Joint Action Committee, as a precautionary measure. (INN)