Hyderabad University students detained for protesting against land auction plan

Mild tension prevailed on the Hyderabad University campus on Sunday as police detained several students protesting against the soil removal machines allegedly brought in to clear a plot. The Telangana government is reportedly planning to develop the land, including setting up an IT park. The 400-acre land at Kanchanbagh Gachibowli is located on the boundary of the University of Hyderabad.

Opposition to the alleged proposal to auction the land

Some university students and others have been protesting against an alleged proposal to auction the land, citing environmental concerns. Students said they rushed to the site when they saw bulldozers. Some climbed on the machines, shouted slogans against the police, and demanded that they “go back.” They were detained during the protest.

13 in police custody

“The students protested and 13 of them were detained,” a senior police official said. The students claimed that those detained included the general secretary of the University of Hyderabad Students Union (UOHSU) and others. In a video posted on social media, a UOH student said they had reached the East Campus after receiving information that the police were barricading the entire area and “bulldozers” were being used to “destroy the forest”. “We just wanted to know what was happening, but the police forcibly took us away.”

Another student said that when she tried to ask why bulldozers were brought, the police forcibly picked her up. The students took to social media and alleged that an "undeclared emergency" had been imposed on the campus. Under the banner of UOHSU, students had earlier staged protests on March 13 and 29, demanding that the government stop the alleged plan to auction the land and register it in the name of the university.

Criticism of ruling Congress

Meanwhile, the opposition BRS criticised the ruling Congress over the police action and cited Rahul Gandhi's "Mohabbat ki Dukan" slogan. "Congress' 'Mohabbat ki Dukan' has now reached Hyderabad Central University. Students and journalists protesting against the Congress government's decision to sell 400 acres of land in Kancha Gachibowli were arrested by Telangana police," the BRS said in a post on 'X'. "Rahul Gandhi goes around carrying a copy of the Constitution and gives 'preaching', but his government is doing exactly the opposite," the party alleged. "Not Mohabbat ki Dukan, this Congress is a bazaar of deception," the BRS said. Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy recently alleged in the Assembly that university students were being instigated and PILs were being filed in courts indirectly regarding the planned development of the land.

For more updates, visit the Vaartha ePaper.

He said the land is located in the financial district within the city's IT hub, and the government aims to promote investments, IT parks, and large-scale employment. He said the land has no connection with the university. However, students say the land also includes the Mushroom Rock area near the East Campus of the University of Hyderabad. A Hyderabad University official had earlier said the land has been owned by the state government since 1974 and was never transferred to the university.