Day 1 of indefinite bandh goes off peacefully in Mancherial

People were opposing the forest officials' decision to close a road passing through Kawal Tiger Reserve

Mancherial: The first day of an indefinite bandh opposing the closure of a road passing through Kawal Tiger Reserve at night went off peacefully across Jannaram mandal on Wednesday.

Commercial establishments and educational institutions voluntarily remained closed in Jannaram mandal centre as part of the protest. People gathered at Ambedkar Chowrasta in the headquarters.

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Police rushed to the spot upon receiving information about the gathering. They advised the people not to protest, citing the model code of conduct that came into force in the wake of MLC elections.

Speaking to the mediapersons, the protesters asked how long they should tolerate the curbs of the forest officials on the road.

They regretted that they were forced to travel around 150 kilometres more than usual due to the closure of the road from 9 pm to 6 am. They announced that they would continue to protest until the curbs were lifted.

Some of their demands included allowing traffic on the road without any conditions throughout the day, to scrap the existing environmental fee from motorists for using the road.

The people said that the restriction was infringing on their freedom. They alleged that the officials were harassing the locals in the name of the conservation of the tigers.