The first day of the GroupI main exams on Sunday went off peacefully in Hyderabad and Warangal centres in the Telangana region, and elsewhere in the state.

Despite the contentious atmosphere in which it was held, the student turnout was actually higher than in the previous years.

The government had made unprecedented security arrangements at exam centres in the Telangana region to ensure the exams were not disrupted by pro-statehood activists.

Despite candidates complaining of transportation problems on account of the Sakala Janula Samme, the highest attendance 69.45 per cent was recorded in Hyderabad and 66.96 per cent in Warangal.

The overall attendance in the state was 69.55 per cent, which was 20 per cent higher than previous Group-I main exams (38.09 per cent in 2005 and 53.05 in 2007). The exams will be held till October 3. The attendance was 68.33 per cent in Visakhapatnam, 71.25 per cent in Vijayawada and 71.46 per cent in Tirupati.

The situation was a little tense at the centre located in L.B. Nagar, when some T-lawyers tried to enter the centre to force postponement of the exam.
The cops immediately took them into custody.
They also took around 50 Kakatiya University students into custody in Warangal when they tried to disrupt the exam.

Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, who is under fire from within and outside the party for refusing to postpone the exam, is said to have expressed satisfaction over the smooth conduct of the exam.

He has asked the police and Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission to continue to focus on making foolproof arrangements for the rest of the exams. T-UPDATES Trains on track but buses off the road Trains services were restored from 6 pm after the 36-hr rail roko ended on Sunday. The RTC strike is still on.
Autos and Setwin buses are expected back on the roads on Monday Strikers to get 12-day salary In a major relief to the striking T-staff ahead of Dasara, the government has cleared salaries for the 12 days that they worked in September.
The catch is that the pay and accounts staff have to return to work to pay the salaries. Sunday's Group 1 exam was held in 35 centres across the state. It was the 11 centres in Hyderabad and three centres in Warangal that gave the police and exam authorities some anxious moments, as T-activists had threatened to disrupt the exams here.

About 1,500 police personnel, CRPF and paramilitary forces were deployed in Hyderabad alone. There is a three-tier police security system in place at exam centres and candidates were thoroughly checked before being allowed to enter the exam centres.

Most candidates reached the exam centres an hour in advance as a precautionary measure, and used twowheelers and bikes as
transport. Some candidates came on bikes all the way from Karimnagar and neighbouring districts anticipating transportation problems in the city on account of the strike. The APSRTC operated special buses from major points for candidates appearing for the exams, which were provided police escort.

About 7,475 candidates out of the 11,500 who had registered appeared for the exam on the first day of the examination held across the State.

However, those candidates who were allowed to appear for the exams at the last minute, on the directions of the High Court on Friday, said they are planning to approach the Supreme Court to get the state government to postpone the exams by 45 days because
they had no time to prepare.

Meanwhile, Cyberabad police commissioner D.
Tirumala Rao announced the imposition of Section 144, prohibiting assembly of five or more persons, around 100-mt radius of the examination centres in the Cyberabad Metropolitan Area. The exam centres are: Ushodaya Kalasala SKD Nagar, Vanasthalipuram; Mahatma Gandhi Law College, LB Nagar; Narayana Junior College, LB Nagar; and Pragathi Women's Degree College, Kukatpally.
The prohibition orders will be in force from 6 am of September 25 to 6 pm of October 3. Any person violating the orders shall be liable for prosecution under the law, Mr Tirumala Rao said.