Protests continued across Tamil Nadu on Friday against the conviction of AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate assets case and the party's Puducherry unit has decided to observe a "dawn-to-dusk" bandh in the Union Territory on Saturday. Many shops were shut in Kancheepuram, Erode, Dharmapuri and Villupuram districts, among others, even as "Amma" (as Jayalalithaa is popularly known) loyalists conducted special prayers at temples, churches and mosques in different places, seeking divine intervention for her release from a Bangalore prison. Police said no untoward incidents were reported from anywhere in the state. In Kancheepuram, a section of fisherfolk did not venture into the sea while party supporters tonsured their heads at Sholinganallur in the district as a mark of protest. A human chain protest was held at Madurai even as party workers observed fast in many places including Pudukottai, Erode, Dharmapuri, Chennai, Krishnagiri and Kancheepuram. The party proposed a day-long fast by its MLAs at the memorial of AIADMK founder M G Ramachandran (MGR) at the Marina beach here on Saturday even as cable operators loyal to AIADMK mulled suspending operations on Saturday. The party's Puducherry unit has called for a 12-hour bandh in all four regions of the Union Territory - Pondicherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam - on Saturday to protest the "false case" imposed against Jayalalithaa. AIADMK's Uppalam town secretary A Ravindran told reporters that the bandh would commence from 6 AM.
