HYDERABAD: The story of a Telangana bandh has now become similar to that of the shepherd who cried wolf.Public response to another bandh on Friday was weary and lukewarm. Like the shepherd who cried wolf too many times till people stopped responding, the T-bandh is now something people would rather shove aside.While a few shops remained closed, most people were up and about their work. Many shops in Begumpet, Punjagutta and Ameerpet remained open.Shravan Kumar, assistant manager of Adidas showroom in Begumpet says they cannot afford to down shutters as for each closed day, the loss runs up to Rs 1 lakh.“The last time they called a bandh, all of us promptly responded. However, a few shops started functioning later in the day and we had to come back to work from far-off places. Hence, this time we are functioning with a half-open shutter,” he said adding that last year, activists pelted stones at their shop and it cost them Rs 80,000 to get it replaced. The business, however, did not match up to a normal day. The usually crowded roads in Begumpet and Ameerpet had thin flow of traffic. One of the Bata showrooms which remained open, recorded fewer footfalls.Shop in-charge RV Sastry said this is the time when they have most sales because schools re-open.On Friday, the number of customers reduced by 50 percent.The happier lot are wine shop owners. “Bandh means a holiday. The day before any holiday our sales shoot up at least 30 percent,” says Karunakar, one shopkeeper.Tea stalls, florists, milkmen and the ones selling cart food went about their business, even though it meant lesser sales. “My business is down today as I got only 10 customers.But I can’t afford to sit at home,” said Narasimha, who sells maize.At Jubilee Bus Station, Komaraiah, an agriculturist was waiting to board a Karimnagar-bound bus. But after a while, he lost his patience and left the bus station in a huff.He had come to the city on Thursday for consulting a doctor. Komaraiah planned to leave on Thursday morning but it was around 9 p.m on Wednesday, he came to know about the bandh call.Several other passengers expressed their dissatisfaction at the frequent bandhs. The otherwise bustling JBS, wore a deserted look since morning with very few stranded passengers. Officials of the APSRTC said nearly 12 buses were partially damaged by pro-Telangana activists.“But still we operated 80 per cent of our city services and 36 per cent in Telangana region,” a RTC official said.
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