Kids enjoy bandh but elders suffer

HYDERABAD: Playing cricket in vacant plots of land, students in the twin-cities had a field day during the 48-hour bandh called by the Telangana Joint Action Committee. But the reactions of the common people ranged from despair to frustration as the city came to a standstill and closed shutters greeted customers in the normally bustling markets.At the Secunderabad railway station, passengers had a tough time finding a ride back home. They had to wait for hours for the few private bus service providers to reach their destinations. Others took autos only to be charged with outrageously high prices. “I was charged Rs 160 by an auto driver which is three-times the usual fare. I plan to wait for as long as it takes for a bus,” said determined Surekha, a resident of Yousufguda who had come to receive her relatives at the railway station. S. Aruna and her friend however decided to rely on share-autos to reach their office. “We work in Kukatpally in the morning shift and are supposed to reach by 6 a.m. Due to the bandh, we have to rely on share-autos,” said the girls.Even the share autos charged extra per head. “I paid Rs 15 per head to commute from Ranigunj to Secunderabad station while it usually costs Rs 5 each,” said Nagamani, who was rushing to her office. Many travellers at the Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS) were stranded and had to make camp at the bus station. Aqeel and his wife Rizwana reached MGBS after a trip to Odisha and were unaware of the 48-hour shutdown. “We have been waiting for a bus to Kannur from 7.30 a.m. My superior at the office is furious but I am helpless,” said Aqeel. Patients visiting the city from other districts were also stranded and had to extend their stay. Gnanamma of Kurnool, who accompanied her mother to Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences for an orthopaedic surgery, is forced to stay back even as the hospital bills run high. The station manager at MGBS, B A David said that the full refund of the cancelled bus tickets, will be given only to those claiming it by tomorrow. Close to 20 police personnel were deployed at MGBS. The MMTS stations were also largely empty apart from the police personnel and a few looking for a spot to rest. Owners of private vehicles suffered due to the high prices of petrol being sold in black during the shutdown. “The huge queue at petrol-pumps prevented me from buying fuel. I had to buy it in black and cough up Rs 150 a litre,” said S Aditya, a resident of Nallakunta who works at an MNC in Banjara Hills.People looking for groceries and other necessities were also greeted with shuttered store fronts. Only a few medical stores and push-cart vendors carried on as usual. Some small eateries also catered to their usual customers defying the shutdown. The owner of a tiffin-centre at Padmarao Nagar justified his decision to keep his shop open saying, “My customers are mainly daily wage labourers who rely on this tiffin centre for their food. Bandh or no bandh, can one control their hunger after a hard day’s work?”