The Assembly muttadi (encirclement) of pro-statehood students passed off peacefully here on Friday.
Going by the fact that no protestor could reach anywhere near the Assembly, the plan was a failure. But it did succeed in paralysing traffic in the city and thousands of people stayed at home.
No incident of violence was reported from anywhere in the city. The Assembly Budget Session proceeded unaffected, and the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, presented the Budget as scheduled.
Earlier, over 300 students who violated prohibitory orders and tried to march towards the Assembly were taken into preventive custody.
As part of the call given by the Telangana Joint Action Committee and Osmania University Students Joint Action Committee to lay siege to the Assembly demanding resignation of elected representatives of the region, hundreds of students began a rally from Osmania University campus, but were stopped by police on Shivam Road near Vidyanagar.
Tension prevailed in the area when the processionists sat on the road raising slogans against the police and indulged in heated arguments with the cops.
Over 50 protesting students were taken into preventive custody for undertaking the rally. The situation is normal now. The agitating students have returned to the Osmania University, East Zone DCP M.C. Laddha said.
Some pro-Telangana activists threw stones on the car of Osmania University Vice-Chancellor T. Tirupati Rao. He was not in the vehicle at that time, the senior police official said, adding window panes of the car were damaged.
In another incident, 150 students were taken into custody after they forced their way by breaking the barricades at the Nizam College hostel near the Assembly.
Earlier, a heavy security blanket was thrown across the city as students began their march to the Assembly.
Over 20,000 police personnel, including para-military and Rapid Action Force (RAF), besides 9,000 city police personnel, were deployed on various roads leading to the Assembly to thwart any attempt of the students to lay siege.
Agitating students affiliated to Telangana Students Joint Action Committee and Osmania University Students Joint Action Committee started their ‘Chalo Assembly’ from the Osmania University campus to Assembly demanding resignation of MLAs of Congress and TDP party from the Telangana region in support of their demand.
In the about nine-km long route between Osmania University and the Assembly, a total of 100 check-posts were set up under nine police station limits to keep a watch on the movement of Telangana students rally.
The students began the rally from Osmania University but police stopped them on Shivam Road near Vidyanagar, following which they sat on the road raising slogans in support of Telangana and against the police.
As per the strategy, a stretch of three km area surrounding the Assembly building was heavily barricaded using barbed wire and even pedestrians were barred from going towards that direction.
Police had declared the march as illegal and imposed prohibitory orders under section 144 CrPC in the city banning any kind of assembly of persons, rallies and processions till February 25.
In addition to heavy deployment of police personnel, the city police imposed massive traffic restrictions on the main roads leading to the Assembly and closed flyovers.
With the main roads wearing a deserted look, traffic came to a standstill on lanes and bylanes causing inconvenience to the common man.
Tension prevailed at the Nizam College near the Assembly after police closed its gates and prevented the students from taking out any rally.
Hyderabad Police Commissioner A.K. Khan told reporters that the traffic restrictions would be eased out by evening.(DC)
