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Opposition call for shutdown evokes only partial response

The day-long shutdown called by the opposition parties was to bring pressure on the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government to implement one-time waiver of farmers' loans in the wake of a major spurt in suicides by distressed farmers.

Hyderabad: The rare display of unity shown by the entire opposition in Telangana notwithstanding, the state-wide 'shutdown' call given by the Congress, Telugu Dedam Party (TDP), Bharatiya Janata Party YSR Congress (YSRC) and the Left parties on Saturday evoked only partial response with only some educational institutions, shops and other business establishments pulling down shutters in the state.
The day-long shutdown called by the opposition parties was to bring pressure on the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government to implement one-time waiver of farmers' loans in the wake of a major spurt in suicides by distressed farmers. Debt-ridden farmers have been committing suicide by the dozens each day in the past month, and a vociferous opposition came together for the first time to corner the government on the farm sector issue.
Bus services of the State-owned Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) were affected as the leaders and workers of opposition parties staged sit-ins at bus stations and depots in Hyderabad as well as in the nine other districts of the State. Bus services were affected in parts of Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Medak, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Warangal, Adilabad and Khammam districts, but the corporation operated bus services with police protection. There were stray incidents of stone-pelting on the buses, police said.
Congress party's state chief Uttam Kumar Reddy, TDP Telangana unit president L Ramna and BJP floor leader in the State Assembly K Laxman were among the top leaders arrested in the State capital when they tried to stop buses at different places in the city. Former ministers D Nagender and Ponnala Lakshmaiah, former MP Anjan Kumar Yadav, Communist Party of India (CPI) state secretary Narayana were also arrested at Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS), the biggest bus station in the state. TDP floor leader in the state assembly leaders E Dayakar Rao and A Revanth Reddy were taken into custody at Jubliee Bus Station in Secunderabad.
Former minister and senior Congress leader Mohammed Ali Shabbir was arrested at Mehdipatnam bus station. BJP leader Indrasena Reddy was held at Dilsukhnagar bus stand. Scores of opposition leaders and activists were arrested at bus stations in various towns since early Saturday.
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