Hyderabad, Feb 13th: A day-long shutdown began in Hyderabad and nine other districts of Telangana region Saturday in response to a call by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of students to protest the terms of reference of the Srikrishna panel on the issue of carving out a state of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh. Shops and business establishments remained closed while state-owned Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation suspended bus services in the region. Activists of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took to the streets at several places, staging demonstrations and blocking vehicles. The protesters turned violent at some places in Warangal and Medak districts, damaging buses and attacking the offices of the Congress party, police said.

As a preventive measure, police arrested dozens of pro-Telangana leaders since Friday night. Anticipating violent protests by students, police and paramilitary forces have been deployed at Osmania University campus here. The campus has been the nerve centre of the agitation for a separate state. The students' JAC, which has given call for the shutdown, is likely to stage protests at the university later Saturday. The shutdown call has been backed by by the JAC of all political parties.