Cops resort to cane charge as UoH students, faculty step up protests

Hyderabad: Tensions escalated in University of Hyderabad (UoH) campus on Wednesday, as police resorted to a lathi-charge on students and faculty of the UoH who were protesting against the government’s decision to auction 400 acres of land in Gachibowli. A few students sustained injuries.

The incident occurred when the University of Hyderabad Teachers Association took out a rally from Ambedkar Auditorium to the university’s east campus in solidarity with the protesting students. Initially, a scuffle ensued between students and police, who were deployed in large numbers and barricaded the east campus where the excavators were clearing the forested land.

Students raised slogans such as – ‘Police go back’, ‘Awaaz Do Hum Ek Hain’, ‘Ladenge Jeetange’ – as they tried to push through the barricades. In the process, around 20 students sustained injuries. Later, the students, along with the teachers’ association, submitted a memorandum to the University officials and urged to take up steps to ensure that the land was registered under the university name and demanded immediate withdrawal of the land auction. They also sought protection of the land and wildlife present there.

Meanwhile, the UoH Students Union called for an indefinite strike at the administration building on Tuesday and continued their protest. The protesters remain firm in their demand to halt the clearing of land, citing environmental concerns and biodiversity loss.