Hyd police on high alert

Police in Hyderabad have been put on high alert ahead of the Ganesha immersion procession Saturday and the pro-Telangana groups' proposed march Sunday for the separate state of Telangana.

Over 15,000 policemen and personnel from paramilitary forces have been deployed to ensure peaceful and smooth conduct of the procession, which would begin Saturday morning.
Authorities have made elaborate arrangements for the immersion of Ganesha idols in Hussain Sagar lake in the heart of the city.
While police make massive security arrangements for the procession every year, what has added to their worry this time is the decision of the Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) to conduct a Telangana march around the same lake despite police refusal of  permission for it.
With the United Nations conference on biodiversity beginning Oct 1, the Andhra Pradesh government is making all-out efforts to ensure peace during the Ganesh procession and also persuade the JAC to postpone its march.
While warning the organisers of the Telangana march against violating the ban orders, state police chief Dinesh Reddy voiced his apprehension that anti-social elements may join the devotees and indulge in violence.
Last year, Telangana protestors had vandalized dozens of statues of Telugu personalities from the Andhra region on Tank Bund on the banks of the Hussain Sagar.
In an attempt to prevent Telangana protestors from occupying roads around the lake, the police this time are trying to ensure early completion of Ganesh idol immersions. Every year, the celebrations spill over the next day as hundreds of idols from different parts of the city and outskirts are brought to the lake for immersion.
Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anurag Sharma has asked Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samithi to wind up the procession early. The police officials were hoping to complete the immersions by midnight.
About 30 huge cranes have been deployed around the picturesque lake for immersions of huge Ganesh idols.
Over a million people annually attend the massive immersion procession, which begins at Balapur on the outskirts and covers a distance of 20 km to reach the lake. The procession passes through the communally-sensitive old city.
Armed policemen and personnel from paramilitary Rapid Action Force and Central Reserve Police Force have been deployed in the sensitive area.
The police have also erected barricades at entry points into the city to prevent Telangana activists from entering the city. They intensified checks of buses, trucks and other vehicles coming to the city from various parts of Telangana.
Police arrested over 100 activists of the CPI coming to Hyderabad from Khammam. Arrests were also made in Adilabad, Karimnagar and Nalgonda districts.
-IANS