HYDERABAD, DECEMBER 15: Blasting of a railway track, the houses of a ruling TDP MLA and two other political leaders, and setting ablaze of State Transport Corporation (APSRTC) buses marred the 48-hour bandh, called by the naxalites of the People's War Group (PWG) in Andhra Pradesh today, in protest against the killing of three top PWG leaders in an alleged encounter recently.Normal life in the interior parts of the naxalite-dominated Telangana region, where the RTC did not ply its buses, was affected while the bandh evoked a partial response in other parts of the region. It had little impact in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema districts.In bandh-related incidents, the PWG blasted the railway track near Nadikudi in Guntur district disrupting the rail traffic. The blast triggered by explosives damaged 12 fish plates of the track, police said adding no one was injured in the incident.The bandh evoked partial response in the urban pockets of north Telangana region while many shops and businessestablishments including banks remained closed in the rural areas fearing reprisals from naxals, reports received here said.Naxals also went on rampage torching two APSRTC buses near Dharmavaram in Nizambad district and another APSRTC bus in Muthyalapadu village in Warangal district, police said.The ultras also blasted the houses belonging to TDP MLA M Damodar Reddy, state cooperative bank director and a private landlord in separate incidents in Karimnagar district, where three PWG top leaders N Adireddy, Santosh Reddy and Seelam Ramesh were killed in police encounter on December 2.The APSRTC, whose buses bore the brunt of naxals fury in the recent past, had withdrawn its services in Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Warangal districts following the bandh.However, there was no impact of the bandh elsewhere in the state. Meanwhile, South Central Railway (SCR) announced diversion of several express trains including Cochin -Hyderabad Express, Madras-Hyderabad and Howrah-Secunderabad Falaknuma scheduled toarrive here today.Few shops, which were closed in the morning, opened later and the buses plied normally, a release issued by the office of the director general of police said here.``No major untoward incident occurred except the blasting of the house of TDP MLA Damodar Reddy in Karimnagar district,'' the release said adding that the bandh did not have any impact in coastal districts of Krishna, Guntur, Prakasham, west Godavari, east Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam.The police also foiled an attempt of ultras to blast a telephone exchange at Geeskonda cross road in Warangal district by laying a landmine in the area.Govt to convene all-party meetHYDERABAD: In the wake of stepped-up Naxalite violence in the state, the Andhra Pradesh cabinet today decided to shortly convene an all party meeting to discuss the issue.Briefing reporters after a cabinet meeting, state Home Minister T Devender Goud said the cabinet had condemned the escalation in the naxaliteviolence during the past fortnight with militants of the PWG going on the rampage, destroying public property to protest against the killing of three top PWG leaders in an encounter in Karimnagar district earlier this month.Goud brushed aside a question on the demand for a judicial probe into the killings, stating that it would be discussed at the all party meeting. He renewed his appeal to the extremists to shun violence and join the mainstream as the people's problems could only be solved through democratic means.
