Hyderabad: Shutdown continued for the second day Saturday in Rayalaseema and coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh against the central government's decision to bifurcate the state by carving out separate Telangana state.
Shops, business establishments, educational institutions and government offices remained closed, while buses of state-owned Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) were off the roads in all 13 districts of Seemandhra, as the two regions are collectively called.
Though YSR Congress party and Andhra Pradesh Non-Gazetted Officers' (APNGOs) Association had called for shutdown Friday, people continued it voluntarily for the second day.
APSRTC buses in Seemandhra remained confined to the depots for the second consecutive day, causing inconvenience to commuters.
Doctors and other medical staff in government-run King George Hospital in Visakhapatnam also joined the strike. They were boycotting all but emergency services.
Students, government employees and people from other walks of life took to streets in Seemandhra, demanding the central government to keep the state united. Raising slogans of 'Jai samaikyandhra', they burnt effigies of the government and top Congress leaders.
