Mild tension at UoH: Students detained for protesting Telangana govt’s land development plan

HYDERABAD: Mild tension prevailed at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) campus on Sunday as police detained several students protesting after earth-moving machines were allegedly brought in to clear a land parcel. The Telangana government reportedly plans to develop the land, including setting up an IT park. The 400-acre land parcel at Kancha Gachibowli borders UoH.

Some university students and others oppose the reported proposal to auction the land, citing environmental conservation concerns. The students said that upon noticing "bulldozers" at the site, they rushed there. Some climbed onto the machines, raised slogans against the police, and demanded that they "go back." They were detained during the protest. "The students held a protest, and 13 of them were detained," a senior police official said.

UoHSU general secretary taken into custody

The students claimed that the University of Hyderabad Students’ Union (UoHSU) general secretary and others were among those taken into custody. In a video posted on social media, a UoH student said they reached the East Campus after receiving information that police were barricading the entire area and that "bulldozers" were being used to "destroy the forest". "We just wanted to know what was going on, but the police forcibly took us away," he said.

Another female student said they were "forcibly taken away" by the police when they tried to ask why the "bulldozers" had been brought in. The students alleged on social media 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 halt the reported plan to auction the land and register it in the university's name.

Also read University of Hyderabad hosts delegation from 21 German universities to promote academic collaboration

Opposition BRS criticised ruling Congress

Meanwhile, the opposition BRS criticised the ruling Congress over the police action, invoking Rahul Gandhi's "Mohabbat ki Dukaan" slogan. "The Congress’s 'Mohabbat ki Dukaan' has now reached Hyderabad Central University. Students protesting against the Congress government's decision to sell off 400 acres at Kancha Gachibowli, along with journalists, were arrested by the Telangana Police," the BRS said in a post on 'X'. "Rahul Gandhi goes around holding a copy of the Constitution and 'preaching', but his government is doing exactly the opposite, the party alleged. "Mohabbat ki dukaan nahi, ye Congress dhoke ka bazaar hai" (This is not a shop of love but a market of deception by Congress)," the BRS added.

CM alleged university students were provoked

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy recently alleged in the Assembly that university students were being provoked and that PILs were being indirectly filed in courts regarding the planned development of the land. Observing that the land is located in the Financial District within the city's IT hub, he stated that the government's goal is to promote investment, IT parks, and large-scale employment.

He maintained that the land parcel has no connection to the university. However, students insist that the land includes the Mushroom Rock area near UoH's East Campus. A UoH official stated earlier that the land has been owned by the state government since 1974 and was never transferred to the university.