The one-day bandh call given by the TSRTC JAC in midst of the ongoing strike evoked near total response in the districts on October 19.
Reports from all the 33 districts indicated success of the bandh with all major political parties barring the TRS joining the stir. In the erstwhile Nizamabad, Adilabad, Karimnagar, Warangal, Khammam, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, Rangareddy and Medak districts, the bandh was total with RTC buses being confined to the depots.
A report from Nizamabad said few number of buses were operated as all the regular staff and most of the casual staff stayed away from duty. Cinema halls suspended morning and matinee shows, shops and business establishments, educational institutions and private offices remained closed.
Many autorikshaws and private carriers were off the road. Railway stations were crowded as they were the only source of travel. Government employees held protest demonstrations during lunch hour.
Lunch hour demonstration by TNGO's employees at the Agriculture Directorate of Telangana in Hyderabad on October 19.
In erstwhile Karimnagar , the RTC JAC leaders led by the Opposition leaders belonging to the Congress, BJP, TDP and left parties, staged a dharna obstructing the operation of buses, forcing the authorities to confine the buses to the depots. They also set fire to an effigy belonging to Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao denouncing his attitude towards resolving the crisis.
The CITU district unit leaders took out a procession in the town in support of the bandh.
Reports from Sangareddy said nine leaders of the RTC employees were taken into custody by the police in the wee hours. At Gajwel- Pragnapur depot, the constituency represented by the Chief Minister, 27 persons were arrested for participating in protests.
In Adilabad , there was heavy police deployment near the bus depots and stations at Adilabad, Utnoor, Nirmal, Bhainsa, Mancherial and Asifabad to prevent agitators from barging in. The police also made several arrests of Opposition leaders and their student wings.
Early morning rainfall stopped the opposition parties from coming out to the depots. Most shops except small businesses remained closed.
The arterial Hyderabad Road in Nalgonda town, leading to the bus station, wore a deserted look with most shops shut and traffic calm, in the wake of the bandh by RTC JAC on Saturday.
A few medical stores, tea shops, vegetable carts and ATMs in the commercial Prakasham Bazaar centre, on the other side, witnessed moderate activity.
Leaders from the Telugu Desam Party, Congress, Jana Sena, Telangana Vidyavanthula Vedika and all their affiliate organisations took out bike rallies, carrying red flags with blaring horns.
About 500 members of the JAC were on foot, from the landmark Nalgonda clock tower cenre to the bus station, with placards and slogans.
Erstwhile Khammam district faced the brunt of the bandh call as normal life remained crippled. Almost the entire fleet of the Corporation buses as well as hired buses remained off the road and most of the traders downed their shutters voluntarily expressing solidarity with the striking RTC staff.
Demonstrators including the TSRTC JAC members and the cadres of the opposition parties staged road rokos in Mudigonda, Enkoor and several other parts of the district.
The district leaders of the CPI(M) and other Left parties organised a demonstration in front of the bus station in Khammam. Some aggrieved RTC employees sang songs highlighting their grievances and the government's alleged “apathetic attitude” in resolving their demands.
With inputs from S. Harpal Singh (Adilabad), P. Ram Mohan (Nizamabad), R. Avadhani (Sangareddy), K. M. Dayashankar (Karimnagar), P. Sridhar (Khammam) and B. Pradeep (Nalgonda).
