Telangana Bandh: Tension in Osmania University, Jagan convoy blocked

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.

The pro-Telangana students attacked security personnel with stones prompting them to lob tear gas shells, after the protesters were prevented from taking out a rally from the varsity.

The protesting students wanted to take out a procession from the OU campus as part of the bandh call given by TRS to oppose the proposal of Rayala Telangana. However, police stopped them near NCC gate on the campus, police said.

Angered over not being allowed to take out the rally, the slogan shouting protesters forcibly tried to pull aside the barricades on the OU campus and also poured petrol and set on fire some of the barricades.

The students then started hurling stones at police after which the security personnel lobbed tear-gas shells to disperse them, they said.

An inspector, Vijay Srinivas, sustained minor injuries in the attack, OU Inspector P. Ashok told PTI.

Meanwhile, police began efforts to take the protesting students into preventive custody. Pro-Telangana students had also clashed with police on Wednesday when the latter foiled their plan to take out a bike rally from the OU campus towards Gun Park as part of protest rallies' call given against the proposal of Rayala Telangana.

The situation on the OU campus otherwise had remained peaceful for the past several months after the ruling Congress (at Centre) approved creation of a separate Telangana state.

Normal life was affected in Hyderabad 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.

However, late on Thursday, government cleared Telangana with 10 districts rejecting reports of Rayala Telangana. Read reort here

At Rajendranagar on the outskirts of Hyderabad, Agriculture University students blocked a convoy of YSRC president Jagan Mohan Reddy who was returning from Chennai after meeting Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. The pro-Telangana activists threw rotten tomatoes and eggs at his convoy and tried to block his journey. The police had to use mild force to disperse the students.

Rayala Telangana: 10 political reasons

Meanwhile, bus services of the state-run State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) were badly affected as TRS leaders and workers held protests near bus stations at different places in Telangana since morning. Shops and other commercial establishments did not open at various places in the region. The personnel of coal mines in the region have also stayed away from work, according to reports reaching here.