Life came to an almost grinding halt in Hyderabad and Secunderabad with the first day of the 48-hour Telangana Bandh coinciding with the anniversary of Babri mosque demolition, which is observed as 'Black Day'.
The streets of the state capital wore a deserted look as shops remained closed. The public bore the brunt of the bandh as shops, business establishments, cinema halls and petrol bunks remained closed in the city. Most ATMs went dry as people rushed to get cash before the bandh.
Thousands of passengers were stranded at the Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS) as the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) suspended all bus services within the region and services to other regions passing through Telangana.
Violence broke out as agitators went on a rampage throwing stones at Punjagutta and Ameerpet, besides damaging two bank ATMs - one of Andhra Bank and another of Axis Bank - at Ramanthapur. Bus services remained cancelled. Setwin buses and auto drivers made merry by charging double the normal rates.
Meanwhile, the condition of K Chandrasekhara Rao, the chief of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) remained stable, as his fast-unto-death entered the 8th day. He has been shifted to the ICU of the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS).
Mithu Sadaranganion 11th Dec 2009, 5:11pm | Permalink
And what is the necessity of a bandh. The people who want a normal and smooth life are really harassed during these bandhs. All these politicians who support bandhs should be lined up and thrown shoes and garbage on their faces. These are the people who degrade the dignity of our country. If bandhs persist, they only cause an irreparable loss to the people in these areas. Businesses suffer, school going children suffer, common man who has to go to work too suffer. All this is just for a few politicians who do not want India to prosper. If a Telangana state is really a solution to improve the area then let the politicians come up with their projects as to how they can give an improved condition to the Telangana area. Creating bandhs for or agains Telangana is just causing unnecessary trouble to the comman man.
Resorting to bandhs and strikes as a form of protest or make a point is totally undemocratic. Such acts should be made illegal. It paints a very negative picture of Hyderabad to the world.
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