Movement of vehicles on national and state highways in Telangana came to a standstill on Tuesday as ruling TRS Ministers, lawmakers and leaders of opposition parties held protests on roads during the 'Bharat Bandh' called by farmers.
Apart from TRS Ministers and MPs, the party's legislators and other public representatives led the protests on highways, leading to huge traffic jams.
Leaders of the Congress, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India-Marxist, other Left parties, farmers' groups, trade unions, people's organisations, employees, techies, transporters, lawyers and others also participated in the protests.
'Rasta roko', dharnas, rallies and public meetings marked the shutdown, which evoked good response as shops and business establishments remaining closed and buses of state-owned Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) and most cabs and auto-rickshaws were off the roads.
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) working President and Industry Minister KT Rama Rao led the protesters near Shadnagar on the Hyderabad-Bengaluru National Highway.
Accompanied by TRS General Secretary K Keshav Rao, other party leaders and workers, Rama Rao sat on the highway. He held a placard with slogans 'stand with farmers' and 'farmers not terrorists'.
Dubbing the new central farm legislations as 'black laws', Rama Rao called for raising a unified voice against what he called a "conspiracy to hand over farm sector to the corporate entities and make farmers labourers puppets at the hands of the big corporate players".
TRS leader and Legislative Council member K Kavitha led the road blockade on the Hyderabad-Nagpur highway near Kamareddy. She along with other protestors released black balloons in the air to register their protest against the farm legislations.
"KCR with farmers -- Withdraw farm Bills' was written on the placard held by Kavitha. A large number of TRS workers joined her in the protest.
Transport Minister P Ajay Kumar, MP Nama Nageswara Rao, and State Farmers' Coordination Committee coordinator Palla Rajeswar Reddy participated in the protest at Khammam. The town also witnessed protests by the Left parties.
At Kodad in Suryapet district, farmers parked their tractors on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway, leading to nearly two-km-long traffic jam.
Leader of Congress in Telangana Assembly Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka led the protest at Shameerpet on the outskirts of Hyderabad. A large number of Congress leaders and workers joined him and raised slogans against the central government to demand withdrawal of the said laws.
The CPI, CPI-M and Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) supporters organised a protest march in Hyerabad from Koti to RTC Cross Roads. CPI State Secretary Chada Venkat Reddy, CPI-M leader T Veerabhadram and TJS leader M Kodandaram led the rally.
The Telangana lawyers staged a protest at Gun Park near the Assembly to show their solidarity with protesting farmers.
Techies too joined the protest, with IT firms' employees holding a sit-in near Raidurg metro station. They held placards to demand withdrawal of the farm laws. Y Kiran Chandra, president of IT Professionals, led the protest.
During the protest by TRS leaders at Kukatpally, some citizens caught in the traffic jam vented their anger at the protesters. One of them was manhandled allegedly by followers of MLA Arkepudi Gandhi.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad Metro rail services were operational on all three routes. Police detained TRS workers who tried to stop trains at Kukatpally.
