Barring stray violence, the dawn-to-dusk bandh called in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh by student groups on Wednesday passed off peacefully.
The shutdown was called in support of the demand for deletion of Clause 14 (F) of 1975 Presidential Order that made Hyderabad a free zone for employment. Though the Centre on Tuesday decided to recommend to the President for deletion of the controversial clause, student groups decided to go ahead with the bandh as official orders are yet to be issued.
The stir was supported by Telangana Rashtra Samithi, Communist Paty of India and Bharatiya Janata Party among other parties. The bandh supporters held demonstrations, sit-ins, bike rallies and other forms of protest across Telangana.
Schools, colleges, shops and other commercial establishments were closed and the state-run Andhra Pradesh Public Transport Corporation suspended its services at various places as a precautionary measure. The bandh was total in Telangana districts like Karimnagar and Warangal, while it was partial in Hyderabad.
Police said 415 persons were taken into custody to prevent disturbances and to maintain normalcy. Twenty eight cases were filed under CrPC. The agitators resorted to 129 rasta rokos, 47 effigy burnings, 21 dharnas, 79 rallies and 11 incidents of hunger/relay strikes. Two cases of damage to vehicles and five of attack on private/government properties were also reported.
Sporadic incidents of unlawful assembly, pelting of stones, causing inconvenience and nuisance to the general public, closing of petrol bunks, schools and banks took place in some Telangana districts, the release said.
Government offices functioned as usual but attendance of employees was thin, it added.
