By IANS
Hyderabad : Parts of the city, especially the Muslim-majority old city, observed a shutdown Thursday to mark the 15th anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya.
Shops, educational institutions and business establishments remained closed in the old city and the commercial hub around Charminar and Mecca Masjid wore a deserted look.
Buses and private vehicles remained off the roads in the old city and black flags were pitched on rooftops and on streets. Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), which has its support base in the old city, and other Muslim organisations had called for a shutdown and observed the day as ‘black day’.
There were no reports of any untoward incident from the state capital and other towns, which witnessed partial shutdown.
The afternoon prayers at Mecca Masjid passed off peacefully amid tight security. Hundreds of policemen and personnel of the paramilitary Rapid Action Force (RAF) were deployed around the mosque and Charminar, which has witnessed many violent protests in the past.
The security was tight in the wake of recent bomb blasts. The blast at the Mecca Masjid on May 18 had claimed nine lives while five people were killed in the subsequent police firing. The twin blasts on Aug 25 at a park and an eatery had killed 44 people.
Police maintained a vigil around the places of worship and in communally sensitive areas.
Muslims constitute 40 percent of the city’s 7 million population. An overwhelming majority of them are in the old city.