CITY ON THE EDGE

CITY ON THE EDGE
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Highlights

Anticipating trouble ahead of the APNGOs ‘Save Andhra Pradesh’ meeting at LB Stadium on Saturday, the police are taking no chances and putting in place elaborate foolproof security arrangements in and around the city. With tempers flaring up between the camps of Seemandhra and Telangana camps over the meeting at LB Stadium on Saturday, police are giving top priority to avoid any confrontation between Samaikyandhra and Telangana supporters. The police have thrown a security blanket on the city, especially at possible points of confrontation.

  • Heavy police deployment in and around city
  • T groups vow to obstruct meeting
  • High Court gives nod to APNGOs meet

  • APNGOs meeting at LB Stadium from 2 pm to 5 pm
  • Basheerbagh, Nizam Road, Abids X Roads to be closed
  • Participants have to produce ID to enter the stadium
  • Entrance from Fateh Maidan Club, Ayakar Bhavan gates
  • Special police teams formed to keep tabs on trouble-makers

Hyderabad: Anticipating trouble ahead of the APNGOs ‘Save Andhra Pradesh’ meeting at LB Stadium on Saturday, the police are taking no chances and putting in place elaborate foolproof security arrangements in and around the city. With tempers flaring up between the camps of Seemandhra and Telangana camps over the meeting at LB Stadium on Saturday, police are giving top priority to avoid any confrontation between Samaikyandhra and Telangana supporters. The police have thrown a security blanket on the city, especially at possible points of confrontation.

It may be recalled that a 24-hour bandh call has been given by the TJAC and other organisations in protest against grant of permission to the APNGOs to hold a public meeting on Saturday. Lal Bahadur Stadium and its surrounding areas up to a radius of 2 km have been turned into a virtual fortress. A total of 45 companies about 5,000 cops and 11 platoons of force will be deployed within the 2 km radius of the stadium.

In addition, 16 check-up points have been set up near the venue and eight pickets are set up on the national highways. Traffic diversions will be imposed based on traffic flow, stated a police official from Central Zone. The participants will have to produce the identity cards to enter the stadium. DCP (Central Zone)Kamalasan Reddy is supervising the security and he along with the APNGOs leaders including its president Ashok Babu inspected the stadium and other arrangements for the meeting on Friday. The special branch sleuths of the city police have identified some troublesome points.

They feel the T employees may enter the stadium and stage a protest which could lead to clash between the employees of the two regions. To prevent any such incident, task force and police personnel in mufti would be deployed inside the stadium to immediately pick them up and whisk away. Barricades have been installed to prohibit vehicular movement on the road leading to Basheerbagh.

As the T activists have planned to obstruct the movement of vehicles entering Hyderabad from Seemandhra region, heavy police force has been deployed at various points on the city outskirts and on national highways. All vehicles and buses entering the city are being thoroughly checked at various points like Abdulapurmet, Hayatnagar, Shamshabad and other areas under Hyderabad and Cyberabad limits.

However, there were reports of attack on a Volvo Bus near Khammam. Police are wary of MRPS activists who could resort to flash protests. In view of this, a special team has been formed to keep a watch on the movement of MRPS activists. Nizam College and its hostel located near LB Stadium have been identified as another trouble spot. Those who want to attend the meeting will be allowed to enter the stadium from the gates near Fateh Maidan Club and Ayakar Bhavan. Basheerbagh, Nizam Road near Nizam College and Abids X Roads will be closed for traffic.

Parking for vehicles has been provided at Public Gardens, Exhibition Grounds and Alia College. However there would be no restriction on movement of trains from Telangana region to other regions. Railway SP Chandrasekhar Reddy in a statement assured the passengers that necessary security would be provided to them. The mood among the APNGOs is high as the High Court has not only permitted them to go ahead with the meeting but also turned down a petition seeking ban on live telecast of the programme.

On the other hand, TJAC and other organizations are making all-out efforts to ensure that the bandh becomes successful. TJAC Chairman Kodandaram asked the government not to operate APSRTC buses and called upon all educational institutions, shops, petrol bunks and other establishments to observe bandh. The main aim of the TJAC is to ensure that the bandh is more successful in Hyderabad. TRS leaders Nayani Narsimha Reddy and E Rajender held a meeting to work out strategies to make the bandh a success.

In the meantime, the Minister for Panchayat Raj, K Jana Reddy, called upon the APNGOs as well as the T activists to maintain utmost restraint and ensure that the peace and harmony does not get affected.

Bandh today
  • T protagonists vow to make it a success
  • TRS for peaceful protests
  • Employees to wear black badges
  • Buses to be off the road in ten districts
  • Sanitation works in GHMC limits stopped
  • MMTS services to be stopped
  • Educational institutions closed

Hyderabad: Telangana JAC and pro-Telangana parties including TRS, CPI-ML (ND), TRLD and BJP besides lead players in the movement including government employees, students, lawyers, doctors and the MRPS are leaving no stone unturned for making bandh, slated for Saturday a big success. TRS convened an emergency meeting with constituency in-charges and key leaders from Greater Hyderabad at its party office on Friday morning to discuss about the party strategy. Senior leaders Naini Narasimha Reddy and Etela Rajender gave instructions to the cadres to ensure total bandh in Hyderabad and Rangareddy districts. APNGOs meeting is nothing but an attempt to stall the formation of Telangana and hence it is very important to register a peaceful protest, TRS leaders told their cadres.

TRS leader T Harish Rao demanded the police to be extra vigilant, and arrest anti-social elements and factionists, who had already entered into the city to disturb the law and order situation in the city.

The Chief Minister and the DGP are to be blamed for any untoward incident since both of them went out of the way in according permission to the meeting. TRS leaders Naini and Etela appealed the Telangana community to observe restraint inspite of provocative actions by Seemandhra public on the eve of the meeting. What was the reason behind holding the said meeting here when they could have staged it in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur or Tirupati without any worries, questioned the TRS camp. Steering committee members of the Telangana JAC including Prof.Kodandaram would meet at a location around 8 am and decide on their activities during bandh. The State and Central Government employees had decided to their protest in a strong manner.

Telangana Employees JAC leader C Vittal informed that all employees would attend duties sporting black badges. RTC buses in ten districts of the region would be off-road on Saturday with Telangana Mazdoor Union (TMU), the recognized union deciding to boycott duties in support of bandh call given by the Telangana JAC.

On the other hand, the Municipal JAC had decided to boycott duties for the whole day on Saturday and take up protest programmes in main offices and in all circle and zonal offices. Recognized union president U Gopal informed that sanitation works including sweeping of roads, lifting and transportation of garbage would be stopped from Friday evening itself.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has announced its support for the bandh. But it preferred to stay away from the bandh in Hyderabad in order to avoid a conflict situation in the wake of the pro and anti Telangana sides getting ready for a showdown in the state capital.

Most vociferous of the entities supporting the bandh is the MRPS. Its leader Manda Krishna Madiga has said that the activists of the organisation would go all out barricading the roads so as to stall the vehicles of the Hyderabad bound APNGOS. The police have already been engaged in making preventive arrests so as to preempt the plans of the MRPS activists in the region.

The OU student JAC hell bent on registering its protests is firm on foiling the meeting of the APNGOs. Initially OU JAC decided to organise a satyagraha meeting in Nizam college grounds, but as the police denied permission the students gave call for one day bandh in Hyderabad and Ranga reddy districts on Saturday. The students are keen on stalling the buses and trains. The police had already laid siege to the Osmania University campus thus preventing students venturing into the city to join the T protests on the occasion.

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