Thousands participate in Telangana march (Lead)
March 10th, 2011 - 5:45 pm ICT by IANS
Hyderabad, March 10 (IANS) Thousands of people violated ban orders and removed barricades to assemble at Tank Bund area here Thursday as part of the ‘million march’ demanding a separate Telangana state.
Unmindful of the massive presence of police and paramilitary forces, Telangana activists reached Tank Bund from different directions around 1 p.m. and demanded that the central government introduce a bill in parliament for carving out a separate state.
It is being seen as a major victory for the Telangana movement as people from different walks of life voluntarily gathered for the march planned on the lines of pro-democracy protests in Egypt.
Raising slogans of “Jai Telangana”, singing pro-Telangana songs and playing games, the protestors, including women, remained on Tank Bund, the three km long road along Hussain Sagar Lake linking the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
Activists of various political parties, students, government employees, lawyers, doctors, teachers, journalists, writers and cultural artists were among the protestors.
The protestors, who uprooted barricades put up on both ends of the road, outnumbered policemen and succeeded in holding the march despite the police sealing all the routes leading to the road and arresting thousands of people across Telangana region to prevent them from reaching Hyderabad.
Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) convenor M. Kodandaram, along with other leaders, was arrested by police as soon as he was leaving for Tank Bund from TJAC office.
Some protestors said they would not leave Tank Bund unless Kodandaram and other leaders are released.
Congress MPs K. Keshava Rao and Madhu Yashki, who had reached Tank Bund to participate in the march, faced the ire of protestors, who threw water bottles and other missiles demanding they resign. Both the leaders were forced to leave the venue. Barring this, the protest so far remained peaceful.
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) legislator Harish Rao, who gave the slip to the police after being arrested along with other TRS leaders near the assembly, managed to reach Tank Bund in a boat.
TRS chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao’s legislator son Tarakarama Rao was re-arrested near Tank Bund. Chandrasekhara Rao’s daughter Kavita was also among the protestors.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Kishan Reddy and senior leader Bandaru Dattatreya also reached Tank Bund, along with hundreds of party workers.
“The future of coming generations is more important for me than my examination,” said a student who reached Tank Bund immediately after writing Class 11 exams.
Tension prevailed in the surrounding areas as police arrested legislators and leaders of TRS, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and BJP.
The legislators were arrested at Basheerbagh as they were heading towards Tank Bund in different groups.
Police also arrested 200 students of Veterinary College when they were proceeding towards Tank Bund.
- Thousands defy government, march for Telangana - Mar 10, 2011
- Telangana million march begins despite police ban - Mar 10, 2011
- Row over re-installation of demolished statues of Telugu icons - Mar 14, 2011
- Routes in Hyderabad sealed to foil Telangana march - Mar 10, 2011
- Million march: Hyderabad comes to standstill as routes sealed (Lead) - Mar 10, 2011
- Hyderabad braces for Telangana million march - Mar 09, 2011
- Telangana body asks legislators to quit by June 25 - Jun 09, 2011
- Congress will be wiped out if it ignores Telanagana: MP - Mar 10, 2011
- Cook-and-eat agitation in Hyderabad for Telangana state (Lead) - Jun 19, 2011
- TRS, TDP leaders arrested in Hyderabad - Dec 28, 2011
- Telangana activists begin cooking on Hyderabad roads - Jun 19, 2011
- Tension, protests in Telangana mar Andhra formation day (Lead) - Nov 01, 2010
- TRS to intensify Telangana movement with road, rail blockades - May 12, 2011
- Telangana protest reaches CM's office, strike continues - Sep 26, 2011
- Telangana shutdown called for Monday - Oct 15, 2011
Tags: action committee, barricades, central government, congress mps, convenor, government employees, hussain sagar lake, jai telangana, keshava, legislator, madhu, massive presence, paramilitary forces, policemen, protestors, secunderabad, tank bund, telangana movement, walks of life, water bottles