india

Updated: Nov 09, 2019 21:51 IST

Police in Hyderabad on Saturday foiled an attempt of the striking employees of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) and opposition parties to re-enact the 2011 “Million March” agitation of pro-Telangana activists to press for their demands.

Hundreds of RTC employees and activists of various political parties tried to march towards Tank Bund on the banks of Hussain Sagar Lake, where they wanted to hold the “Chalo Tank Bund” rally called by the Joint Action Committee of RTC unions and party activists.

Even though the police fortified the entire area with barbed wires, barricades and several police checkpoints, the protesters managed to breach security and ran towards Tank Bund.

Police resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the agitators who pelted stones at the them resulting in injuries to a few personnel. They also used water cannons and lobbed tear gas shells to drive away the protesters and arrested many of them to bring the situation under control after nearly two hours.

Hundreds of protesters, including women, were detained and taken to police stations in various parts of the city. The agitators came in batches, one after the other, to confuse the security forces.

JAC leaders vowed to repeat the “Million March” agitation held on March 10, 2011, when thousands of Telangana activists defying stringent security arrangements, stormed Tank Bund demanding statehood to Telangana.

The agitation had turned violent with the activists destroying the statues of Andhra leaders erected on the Tank Bund and dumping them in Hussain Sagar lake. Scores of activists were injured in the incident, which was a landmark in the agitation for separate Telangana.

However, this time, police took several steps to prevent any recurrence of violence on Tank Bund. Hyderabad Police’s commissioner Anjani Kumar denied permission for the protest and ensured that all the routes leading to Tank Bund were closed on Saturday.

Several leaders, including JAC chairperson E Ashwathama Reddy and convenor Raji Reddy, were arrested as preventive measure well in advance.

Several party leaders, including the BJP’s state unit president K Laxman and Congress and Communist leaders, were placed under house arrest.