March, immersion keep police on tenterhooks

Three major events including the march and biodiversity meet being lined up one after the other have escalated anxiety levels among security planners and police agencies.

Sunday's Telangana march by groups fighting for a separate Telangana state and the United Nations conference on biodiversity, beginning Monday, have heightened police anxiety.

Bowing to pressure from the Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) and its own ministers from Telangana region, the state government Friday night gave permission for the march, albeit with certain conditions.

JAC has been allowed to hold the march only on one side of Necklace Road of Hussain Sagar and not the other side Tank Bund, where the march last year led to violence. However,  police officials appealed to Bhagyanagar Ganesha Utsav Samithi members to complete the immersion by midnight. Usually, the immersion extends over to the wee hours of  next day.
As the Telangana march is permitted from 3 p.m. Sunday, the police may have some time to relax before protestors gather at the lake.
The biggest challenge for the police remains the likely presence of anti-social elements, who may join the devotees and the Telangana protestors.

- Siva@sakshipost