Temple town shutdown 'peaceful'

Tirupati, Dec 21: Moday's bandh at Tirupati as part of a two-day shutdown undertaken by the Joint Action Committee went off peacefully except for a few incidents.Shops,business houses,cinema halls and educational institutions were closed. Leaders of all hues took part in rallies, held up trains, conducted dharnas and launched fasts accompanied by sloganeering against the Centre’s ''unilateral''decision on the proposed formation of Telangana state.Fearing attack on its fleet, the Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation suspended its services for two days--Monday and Tuesday. However, the agitators stoned 15 buses.

The autorickshaws were off the roads.The pilgrims suffered as the agitators held up the buses even on Tirupati-Tirumala ghat section.Meanwhile, the JAC urged the pilgrims to put off their visit toTirumala by a couple of days to avoid inconvenience which may be caused by the 48-hour bandh call.The crowd of pilgrims at the famous Balaji temple near here was negligible on Morning morning due to the bandh as most of the hotels and eateries had closed.