On Thursday, a wave of joy and cheer swept Osmania University, the nerve centre of the Telangana movement, after the Centre conceded to the demand of carving out a separate state from Andhra Pradesh.
Hundreds of students and Telangana supporters assembled in the campus in the morning and burst into celebrations hailing the decision and organised a Vijayotsav, marking their successful agitation.
Slogans of Jai Jai Telangana filled the air as students burst crackers, distributed sweets, sang traditional Telangana folk songs and danced to drumbeats echoing in the varsity campus, amidst a huge presence of security personnel.
Welcoming the Union government’s announcement to initiate the process of creating Telangana, the Joint Action Committee of Students Union has withdrawn the proposed peace march from Osmania University to Indira Park here.
Also, a meeting was to be held at the Osmania University campus on Thursday afternoon to pay homage to all those who died during the agitation, after Telangana Rashtra Samiti chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao began his fast-unto-death on November 29.
Police restrictions continued to be in place, with pickets and barricades put up all over the university and roads leading towards the state assembly.
{{/usCountry}}Police restrictions continued to be in place, with pickets and barricades put up all over the university and roads leading towards the state assembly.
{{/usCountry}}Over 12,500 security forces drawn from state police and paramilitary forces maintained strict vigil after the TRS and Joint Action Committee students said they would organise a “Chalo Assembly” march, which was later converted into a peace rally, on Thursday.
Hyderabad city commissioner of police B. Prasada Rao indicated that the restrictions would be relaxed only after the Joint Action Committee leaders formally announce or intimate them about the withdrawal of the rally.