Except for Hyderabad, the RTC's operations came to a halt across districts.
Normal life was paralysed in most parts of Andhra Pradesh, due to the nation-wide bandh call given by the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Left and other opposition parties, in protest against the hike in petrol prices.
Although the impact in the state capital was minimal, the bandh was almost complete in other parts of the state.
Except for Hyderabad, the State Road Transport Corporation's operations came to a halt across districts, and protestors staged dharnas in front of all bus depots.
Buses and auto-rickshaws went off the roads, while shops, petrol bunks, business establishments and educational institutions remained closed.
According to the police, barring a few incidents of stone-pelting on buses, and burning of tyres, the bandh was largely peaceful.
In a rare show of unity, political rivals joined hands to protest the price hike. At many places, workers of the BJP, TDP, CPI and CPI-M were seen together stopping buses or staging road blockades.
A majority of the APSRTC buses remained confined to depots in the districts, as the protestors did not allow authorities to take them out. They sat in front of the depots since the early hours of the morning.
In Hyderabad, most city buses were run with police protection. Shops and petrol bunks were also open at many places.
The police arrested CPI state secretary K Narayana and CPI (M) secretary B V Raghavulu at RTC cross roads, when they led a rally from Narayanaguda cross roads, protesting the hike in petrol prices.
At the Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station in Hyderabad, the police arrested CPI (M) leader P Madhu and dozens of other party activists, when they tried to stop buses. Though the police claim that buses were plying normally, services were affected because of the total impact of the strike in districts.
In coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema, the shutdown evoked a good response, with TDP and Left activists not allowing buses to leave depots.
In Khammam, protestors damaged the glass panes of a few buses, and at other places, agitators deflated the tyres of buses and auto-rickshaws.
The shutdown paralysed transport operations in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur, Anantapur, Nellore, Kadapa and other towns.
With the TRS also joining the protest, the shutdown was total in the Telangana region, except in Hyderabad.
Bharatiya Janata Party president G Kishan Reddy demanded immediate the revoke of hike on petrol prices imposed by the oil marketing companies. Participating in a protest at Abids Circle, he said that the petrol price hike would heavily burden the common man and make lives miserable.
He said that poor and middle class people must now spend over 40% of their income on petrol, and that they are unable to meet other expenses.
The police arrested Kishen Reddy, BJP executive committee member Bandaru Dattatreya, GHMC city president B Venkatareddy and other activists, for blocking the traffic. (INN)