Tamil Nadu bandh near total in city, districts

Chennai: Tamil Nadu shut down all its activities on Friday, closing all shops and stopping all kinds of publ9ic transportation - buses, trains, autorickshaws and call taxis - in support of the massive, self-regulated protests by students and youths to preserve Tamil culture by saving the age old tradition of jallikattu.

As the peaceful and disciplined gathering at Marina bonded together with their zeal to preserve Tamil identity crossed two lakh persons, the arterial roads and commercial hubs in the city wore a deserted look. In parts of the city where large groups of people were seen, it was only to protest against jallikattu ban and uphold Tamil pride.