Hyderabad: University of Hyderabad (UoH) students on Thursday, April 3, launched a relay hunger strike against the Telangana government’s move to auction 400 acres of Kancha Gachibowli land.
About 20 students took part in the strike as they sat in front of the north gate of UoH, demanding the immediate halting of the deforestation drive and the removal of bulldozers from the university campus. They also demanded the withdrawal of the large contingent of police personnel deployed at the university’s east campus.
The students further sought the release of two students, Naveen and Rohit Bondi, who are still in police custody.
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“Since yesterday, we have been on an indefinite hunger strike against the UoH administration. However, yesterday, none of our demands were accepted. Now we have launched the relay hunger strike where every day a new set of students will be taking part in the hunger strike,” UoH students’ union general secretary Nihad Sulaiman told Siasat.com.
A few students stated that the felling of trees continued till Thursday morning despite a Telangana High Court order to halt the same and a Supreme Court hearing underway.
Members of the ABVP’s UoH unit also continued their protest.
Earlier, the University Students Union called for a boycott of classes and announced an indefinite protest against the Telangana government’s decision to destruct the green lung space in Kancha Gachibowli and auction it to generate revenue.
The University of Hyderabad Teachers Association also joined the protests in solidarity with students. On Wednesday, several students were caned by police as they tried to enter the area where the tree removal and land levelling works were underway.
