Normalcy was today returning to Tamil Nadu, a day after sporadic violence erupted in several parts of the State in the wake of Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa’s conviction in the disproportionate assets case.
Bus services, suspended in many parts of the State, were being resumed in a phased manner while commercial establishments, including hotels and shops, were open in Chennai and elsewhere.
Police said no major untoward incident was reported in the State today, which saw angry protesters forcing closure of shops, pelting stones and torching vehicles in some places yesterday, prompting the Home Ministry to ask the State Government to maintain law and order.
However, inter-State bus services to Bangalore remained suspended.
A Madurai report said normalcy had returned to the temple town and most parts of 10 southern districts, where the AIADMK has a strong base.
Police said bus services had been resumed in most places of the southern districts and no untoward incident had been reported so far.
Police were posted at vulnerable places and patrol had been increased to monitor the situation in and around the city and rural areas.
However, in some towns, including Sivaganga, only 50 per cent of the bus services were resumed, and shops in some places remained closed.
Though the situation was tense, it was under control, police said and expressed the hope that full normalcy would return by late evening.
Reports from Theni, Dindigul, Ramanathapuram and Virudhunagar said normalcy had returned in most places though the shops remained closed in a few localities.
In Srirangam, the Assembly constituency of Jayalalithaa, shops have been open since morning today. However, private bus operators were hesitating to operate their services, while autorickshaws too remained off the roads in most parts of town.