Amaravati, April 16: Normal life came to a standstill in Andhra Pradesh on Monday as the day-long shutdown called in demand for the special status category to the state evoked near total response.
Shops and business establishment and educational institutions remained closed, while buses of state-owned Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) went off the roads in all 13 districts.
The shutdown has been called by Pratyeka Hoda Sadhana Samithi (The people's forum to fight for special status) and is being backed by opposition YSR Congress party, the Left parties, Congress and Jana Sena.
The ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which has been fighting for the special status and implementation of the provisions of AP Reorganisation Act, is not participating in the shutdown.
Leaders and activists of all opposition parties, barring Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), staged protest demonstrations across the state.
They took to the streets since early morning, raising slogans against the Centre for going back on the promise to grant special status and fulfil all other commitments made at the time of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014.
The protestors staged road blockades and laid siege to APSRTC depots to prevent buses from coming out. The bus services came to a total halt in all three regions - north and south coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema.
Protests were held at bus stations in Vijayawada, Guntur, Tirupati, Visakhapatnam and other towns across the state. Police arrested leaders of opposition parties at a few places.
Sadhna Samithi Chalasani Srinivas said the 'bandh' was in protest against the Narendra Modi government's refusal to grant special status.
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Pal to visit Hubballi & Vijayapura to interact with farmers affected by Waqf Board action: BJP MP
Bengaluru (PTI): BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on Tuesday said the Chairperson of Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 Jagdambika Pal will visit Hubballi and Vijayapura in Karnataka on November 7 to interact with farmers allegedly affected by Waqf Board's "predatory action".
The response came days after Surya had requested Pal to invite farmers from Vijayapura district as witnesses to discuss their land disputes with the Waqf Board.
"Chairman of JPC on Waqf has kindly consented to my request to visit Hubli (Hubballi) and Bijapur (Vijayapura) on 7th November to interact with farmers affected by the Waqf’s predatory action. Chairman will interact with farmer organisations, Mutts and petitions given to him will be placed before JPC," the Bengaluru South MP, who is a member of the Committee, said.
In a October 29 letter, Surya highlighted about his recent meeting with a delegation of farmers from Vijayapura district and other areas in the vicinity and had requested Pal to visit the affected regions in Karnataka to receive complaints and grievances and also have a public hearing with the farmers adversely impacted by the Waqf Board's action.
"These farmers, who have cultivated their lands for nearly a century, maintain records dating back to the 1920s and 1930s. In recent months, however, many of them have been served notices declaring their lands as Waqf property, without any accompanying evidence or explanation. The scale of these claims is substantial, with nearly 1,500 acres being designated as Waqf property in their village alone," he alleged in his letter to Pal.
According to him, the farmers claimed that apart from being served notices, changes have been made in the RTC (Record of Rights, Tenancy and Crops), 'pahani' and mutation registers for some of the land parcels without following the due process of law.
Following allegations by a section of farmers from Vijayapura district that their lands were marked as Waqf properties, Karnataka Chief Minister Sidddaramaiah has said that none of them will be evicted, and notices issued to them will be withdrawn.
