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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Taj Mahal top earning ASI monument through ticket sales from FY19-20 to FY23-24: Govt
New Delhi, Apr 3 (PTI): The iconic Taj Mahal in Agra earned the "highest income" through the sale of tickets among the ASI-protected monuments from FY19-20 to FY23-24, according to data shared by the government.
Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat shared the data in a written response to a query in Rajya Sabha.
He was asked the amount that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has received from selling entry tickets to various monuments in the last five years, year-wise and monument-wise; and the monuments that have received the highest income through selling entry tickets in the last five years.
In his response, the minister shared the data in a tabular form for cycles of financial years ranging from FY19-20 to FY23-24.
According to the data, Taj Mahal earned the top slot for all five years.
The Mughal-era architectural wonder was commissioned by Emperor Shah Jehan in the 17th century and it is considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.
In FY19-20, the Agra Fort in Agra and Qutub Minar in Delhi were in the second and third positions.
In FY20-21, the Group of Monuments Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu and Sun Temple, Konark were in the second and third positions. In FY23-24, Qutub Minar and Red Fort of Delhi were in the second and third positions.
