Nellore: The bandh call given by Samaikyandhra Students’ Joint Action Committee was partial and peaceful in Nellore district. The intensity of the bandh was not felt since all the political parties barring YSR Congress maintained distance from the bandh.
 
YSR Congress activists, led by party leader Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy, took out a motorcycle rally and forced all the government offices to close. Banks located on the main thoroughfares remained closed while others functioned as usual.
 
Majority of shops and establishments as well as educational institutes closed voluntarily and the students forced the remaining to down the shutters. However, it was business as usual in the afternoon.
 
Incidentally, the bandh has no impact on the operations of RTC except in few places like Atmakur for a while.
 
Services between Atmakur and Kadapa were affected in the morning session as supporters of united state squatted on the Mumbai-Nellore highway at Nellorepalem near Atmakur to prevent movement of vehicles.
 
Students torched the effigy of AICC chief Sonia Gandhi at K.V.R. Petrol Bunk Centre in the town and formed human chain at Kondayapalem Gate Centre. JAC activists stopped Patna Express and a goods train at Vijaya Mahal gate for a short while.
 
They have also cleansed the statue of Mahatma Gandhi on Trunk Road with milk. The effigies of Sonia Gandhi and KCR were torched at Sitaramapuram. Movement of vehicles came to a standstill for a while on the national highway at Kavali and Manubolu.
 
Students have taken out a rally and organised bandh at Gudur. Presence of police in sizeable numbers in all important junctions has prevented any untoward incidents in the district.
 
Protests mark bandh
 

Rajahmundry: As part of the state-wide bandh taken up in protest against the Congress Working Committee’s decision to favour formation of a separate Telangana state, several commercial establishments, educational institutions, public and private offices and private institutions remained closed while political activists belonging to the ruling Congress, Telugu Desam and the YSR Congress almost exchanged blows blaming one another on the issue in Godavari districts on Wednesday. 
 
In East Godavari, at Rajahmundry, YSR Congress leaders led by its city convenor Bommana Raj Kumar took out a protest rally denouncing the Congress decision on Telangana.
 
They formed a human chain near Kotipalli bus stand centre. Activists of NSUI and Intuc staged stir. Property damages were reported at the offices of RDO and also at Employees’ Provident Fund.
 
Intuc activists organised a rasta roko and burnt tyres. They raised slogans against Congress president Sonia Gandhi and TRS president K.Chandrasekhar Rao. 
 
They cleansed the statue of Potti Sriramulu by pouring milk on it with a demand for the state to remain united. YSR Congress leaders staged a novel protest by blindfolding themselves with a black cloth at Kotagummam Centre.
 
Tense moments developed when Youth Congress activists entered into heated arguments with TD state general secretary Gorantla Butchaiah Choudhary at the latter’s party office. There was jostling between the Congress activists and some Congress leaders. 
 
Similarly, YSR Congress leaders Bommana Raj Kumar and others arrived at the city Congress office and raised slogans against Sonia Gandhi and local MP Vundavalli Arun Kumar. There were heated arguments between the Congress and the YSR Congress leaders. However, timely intervention of the police helped ease the situation in both the cases.
 
Meanwhile, Lawyers joint action committee has resolved to abstain from court work till August 5 in the district. As the agitators did not allow the RTC buses to ply, the authorities managed to run less than 50% of their services.
 
RTC incurred Rs 55 lakh revenue loss due to it and about 15 of its vehicles suffered minor damages in EG. In West Godavari, RTC operated its services only to the extent of 54% and incurred a loss of Rs30 lakh. Two buses, one at Bhimavaram and another at Devarapalli suffered minor damages.
 
At Eluru, the agitators performed ksheerabhishekam to the statues of Potti Sriramulu at several places and vowed to continue their stir until the Congress leadership withdraws its decision to allow formation of a separate Telangana state. The agitators blindfolded the statues of late prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.
 
Bandh call evokes good response
 
Vijayawada: The bandh called to protest the bifurcation of state was peaceful and total in Krishna district, with traders downing their shutters and theatres cancelling the noon and matinee shows while all educational institutions remained closed.

 
Employees and Students’ JAC activists took out rallies in the city to protest the state bifurcation. The students staged a rasta roko at Benz Circle and the employees took out the rally from Tagore library.
 
Police arrested Telugu Desam district president Devineni Umamaheswara Rao when he staged a rasta roko at Gollapudi. 
 
Meanwhile, Congress activists led by district president N. Narasimha Rao, city president Adapa Nagendra Kumar and leader M. Rajeswara Rao, took out a rally in Gandhinagar and forced traders to down their shutters. 
 
However, the RTC services were run as usual, except minor interruptions at some places. 
 
Advocates boycotted courts in support of Samaikyandhra.
 
YSR Congress leaders, including Jaleel Khan, Vangaveeti Radhakrishna, P. Gowtam Reddy, T. Sakuntala and others,  cleansed the statue of Potti Sriramulu and staged a dharna at Prakasam Barrage.
 
The YSRC leaders appealed to the people to corner the Congress ministers and MLAs and question them over the bifurcation of the state.
 
The YSRC leaders accused the Congress leadership of dividing AP to protect the party. They said that the Congress had failed to consult other parties before dividing the state.
 
Pointing out that the YSRC MLAs had resigned from their posts in support of Samaikyandhra, they said that the Congress leaders failed to bring pressure on the central government by resigning. 
 
Later, the YSRC activists organised a rally in I-Town and forced shopkeepers to down their shutters. 
 
YSRC district convener Samineni Udayabhanu said that both the Congress and the TD leaders should oppose the bifurcation of the state.
 
Samaikyandhra supporters also organised a rasta roko on the National Highway at Nandigama and at several places in the district.
 
Meanwhile, Nagarjuna University students staged protests and burnt an effigy of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. 
 
The students took out a rally from the hostel building and blocked traffic between Vijayawada and Guntur on the National Highway for about 30 minutes. 
 
When the police stopped the agitation, the students staged protests in the University.

 
Students launch hunger strike
 

Visakhapatnam: The bandh call given by Samaikyandhra JAC evoked mixed response in the city. However, it passed off peacefully.
 
Barring few schools and educational institutions, which closed down fearing attacks, its business as usual for many of the commercial establishments, shopping malls and government offices.
 
Samaikyandhra activists stopped a few buses at certain places in the city and even blocked the National Highway at Hanumanthawaka junction for a few hours troubling people, who were on way to the offices. However, private vehicles and autos plied as usual on the roads. 
 
Central security forces were seen in large numbers at all important junctions. Rapid action force men were deployed in Andhra University.
 
Four students of the varsity launched an indefinite hunger strike on the campus demanding that the UPA government roll back its decision on bifurcation of the state.
 
“We are not going to relent until the Congress and UPA government rollback the decision on dividing the state. The Congress announced Telangana for its political gains. All round development will be possible only if the status quo is maintained in the state. We want all public representatives to quit their posts to bring pressure on the Centre to roll back the decision,” said Areti Mahesh, one of the four students taking part in the indefinite hunger strike. Students also burnt AICC president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s effigy.
 
Various other organisations took out rallies condemning the UPA endorsing creation of Telangana. EPDCL staff too joined the stir and organised protests at their office.
 
Government Whip Dronamraju Srinivas, MLAs Panchakarla Ramesh Babu and Malla Vijayprasad took part in a rally organised by Congress party workers.  
 
Advocates at the district court boycotted their duties and took out a rally near the court premises. 
 
They carried placards demanding the Congress withdraw its decision on Telangana.