Thaindian News

Hyderabad, Oct 17 (IANS) Yet another shutdown in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh hit normal life Monday even as train services were restored after a two-day “rail blockade” to demand a separate Telangana state.

The shutdown, which was partial in Hyderabad but total in nine other districts of the region, passed off peacefully, barring minor incidents.

Private educational institutions announced that they would re-open Tuesday but government employees ruled out withdrawing their 35-day long strike.

Public buses, which returned on the roads Sunday after a 28-day long strike, again went off the roads while schools, shops and other businesses were shut in most parts of the region in response to the shutdown called by Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) to protest “police excesses” during the rail blockade.

There was only partial impact of the shutdown in Hyderabad as Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corp (APSRTC) buses plied normally.

Even autorickshaws plied though union leaders wanted to join the shutdown.

Educational institutions, which were scheduled to re-open after a month-long strike by teachers, remained closed.

Private educational institutions decided to re-open from Tuesday. They, however, said their protests would continue till a separate state is won. They would support any future agitation by JAC.

Train services, which remained paralysed for two days, were restored Monday but trains ran many hours behind schedule. Officials hope normalcy would be restored from Tuesday.

Meanwhile, police arrested 50 protesters at Narketpalli in Nalgonda district when they staged a road blockade on the Vijayawada-Hyderabad highway.

Police stopped about 100 buses coming from Vijayawada towards Hyderabad at the check post between coastal Andhra and Telangana regions early Monday as a precaution.

Both RTC and private buses were stopped at Kesara in Krishna district at 3 a.m., causing inconvenience to passengers. While some buses returned to Vijayawada, others were diverted though Khammam district.

Pro-Telangana lawyers were arrested by the police at Andhra Pradesh High Court when they tried to disrupt the courts. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) condemned the arrests.

The strike by government employees across Telangana entered the 35th day Monday. The strike by workers in state-owned Singareni Collieries is also continuing.

Meanwhile, Congress MPs S. Rajaiah and Ponnam Prabhakar and TRS legislator Harish Rao were Monday released on bail. They were sent to judicial custody Saturday for participating in the “rail blockade”.

As a mark of protest over “police excesses”, all 12 legislators of the TRS surrendered their security personnel to the state government.