City to erupt in joy at stroke of midnight

• City turns pink, illuminations light up the sky
• All-night revelry, music & dance at Tank Bund
• Telangana Bhavan, Gun Park and Gandhi Bhavan are illuminated to herald the birth of Telangana
• Osmania University, the hotbed of T movement, gears up for grand festivities
• TJAC too plans mega celebrations
• GHMC rises to the occasion to keep the city spick & span

Hyderabad: The celebration is already in the air. The long and arduous struggle for Statehood is over and it is now time for rejoicing over Telangana's historic tryst with destiny. Come June 2, it will be a new dawn.

All district administrations and political parties have made elaborate arrangements for the Telangana formation celebrations. Rallies, public meetings and cultural programmes are scheduled right from the midnight till late on Monday. Hyderabad city has been decked up for the formation Day. It is not just the TRS party which is making all-out arrangements for the celebrations. Even the Telangana Pradesh Congress party and TJAC have chalked out a detailed list of programmes from Sunday evening. Osmania University, the hotbed of the movement, also will see grand festivities on the day with Students JAC, teaching staff and also the management lining up various activities and meetings on the campus. Similar will be the scenes at all major educational institutions across the region.

TRS has put up huge cutouts of Telangana CM designate at several places in the twin cities. All traffic intersection points and cross roads have been adorned with customary pink flags, banners and posters. Even the electric poles on road dividers and flyovers are wearing a pink look. TRS has drawn up plans to hold massive celebrations at Tank Bund. Rasmai Balkishan and his Dhoom Dham music troupe will enthrall Telangana supporters and elected representatives with popular Telangana folk numbers from 8 pm on June 1 till midnight. At the stroke of midnight, fireworks will lit up the sky for an hour continuously like never before. Fireworks experts from Mumbai have been roped in for this purpose.

Film celebrities like N Shanker, Dil Raju Surender Reddy, Sampath Nandi and popular singers like Vandemataram Srinivas, Andhesri and Mimicry artist Srinivas are among others will take part in mid-night celebrations to be held at Tank Bund. Even the government authorities are busy decorating the stretch from Telangana Bhavan in Banjara Hills to Gun Park and Parade Grounds in Secunderabad in view of the state formation day fete.

The GHMC has swung into action and has taken up measures to give a facelift to the city. The road-dividers have been repainted black and white on most of the stretches. Even the surroundings near the Parade Grounds, where Metro Rail works are on, are being cleaned up on a war-footing. Meanwhile police department is leaving no stone unturned to ensure tight security for the VIPs.

Senior police officials are monitoring security arrangements since the Chief Minister and his newly sworn in Cabinet Ministers will take part in the ceremonial parade. The TJAC, which was spearheading the T agitation, will be holding mega celebrations at Martyrs Memorial, Gun Park, the epitome of Telangana statehood struggle. Dhoom Dham and cultural programmes will begin from 8 pm on June 1 and it will continue until midnight. Tricolour and Telangana JAC flags will be hoisted at mid-night. On the other hand, the TPCC has decked up the Gandhi Bhavan with lights and huge posters of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. The TPCC will take out Kakada Rally (torchlight rally) on Sunday between 7 pm and 9 pm. It has also organised a programme of national integration songs and ghazals by Khan Athar from 10 pm near Charminar in the old city. As the stroke of midnight, the Telangana flag will be hoisted by Yekka Yadagiri, sculptor of the Martyrs Memorial, opposite the state Assembly building.