By IANS,
Hyderabad: Police have stepped up security in view of the Andhra Pradesh shutdown called by YSR Congress Party Friday to protest the government’s failure in solving the unprecedented power crisis.
The opposition party has appealed to all sections of people to cooperate in making the shutdown a success while police announced precautionary measures to maintain law and order.
Police have intensified patrolling and have also warned of action against the protesters damaging buses of state-owned Road Transport Corporation (RTC) and other public property.
Cyberabad Police Commissioner D. Tirumala Rao said policemen would be deployed near bus depots to control agitators. Movements of agitators near bus stations will be video-graphed.
YSR party leader J. Prabhakar Rao told reporters that essential services would be exempted from the shutdown.
For the third consecutive day, YSR party activists staged protest across the state, and laid siege to power sub-stations.
The party blamed the government for the power crisis, which has hit hard agriculture and industrial sectors.
Senior party leader M.V Mysoora Reddy said the long power cuts had also badly affected weavers, students and other sections of people.
The left parties plan to call for a state-wide shutdown in the first week of September and have sought the support of main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and other parties.
Due to massive gap in power demand and supply, the authorities have already imposed daily three to six hour power cut for domestic sector in cities and towns. The villages are being supplied electricity only when the farm sector is getting it.
The opposition parties dispute the government claim that daily seven-hour power supply to farmers was being maintained despite the crisis.
The electricity distribution companies have declared three-day power holiday in a week for industries.