'Million-man March' by pro-Telangana groups stalls Hyderabad

Normal life was thrown out of gear in Hyderabad on Thursday as Pro-Telangana activist, taking out a 'million-man' protest march in Hyderabad, clashed with the police.

Pro-Telangana groups are seeking the introduction of a Bill on a separate state in the ongoing Parliament session.

Organisers said the march is inspired by the recent protests in Cairo.

The Million March was aimed at sending across a message to the Centre on the formation of Telangana. The protest started at 1 pm from Tank Bund at the Hussainsagar Lake in the heart of the city.

The Hyderabad Police had denied permission to the march, citing that the protest would affect normal life and might even lead to law and order problems. Prohibitory orders were imposed under Section 144 CrPC in Hyderabad and Cyberabad Police Commissionerate limits, which banned any kind of assembly of persons, rallies and processions.

Heavy security arrangements were made in different parts of Hyderabad with deployment of hundreds of security personnel drawn from the state police and central paramilitary forces.

Traffic restrictions came into force from the morning hours, and office-goers had a tough time reaching their destinations. A number of them claimed to have been stopped at many roads, and this in spite of their carrying their identity cards with them as per the police's instructions on Wednesday.

The police came under severe criticism from the public, who complained that it took them hours to reach their destinations. The police had barricaded the surrounding routes with barbed wires towards the Tank Bund area ahead of the march.

Barricades were also set up to stop students of the Osmania University from joining the protest. Some resorted to pleading with the police to be let through.

The situation turned fierce when the students resorted to shouting slogans at the police.

The students soon overpowered the police, and they broke through the barricade.

The students marched on, shouting slogans, making their way to the protest.

The police tried to hold back the crowd, even firing tear gas at them to stop them from advancing.

The confrontation escalated, and some students took to pelting stones at the police.

An Outside Broadcasting (OB) vehicle was allegedly set on fire during the march.

Heavy traffic jams resulted in several locations, including near the RTC Cross Roads, Kachiguda, Malakpet, Koti, parts of Old City and Basheerbagh among other areas.