Hyderabad: Within 24 hours of intense University of Hyderabad (UoH) student protests against the Telangana government’s decision to sell 400 acres of the university, bulldozers stormed on Sunday midnight, March 30, tearing down trees and flattening the area.
The clearance is part of the Telangana government’s plan to sell 400 acres of prime land, including biodiversity and the Mushroom Rocks, which is about two billion years old.
Even as a PIL (public interest litigation) is pending at the Telangana High Court, for which the Congress government had sought time till April 4 to respond, it seems the state government is adamant on their decision.
The PIL sought the High Court to declare the disputed land an ecologically sensitive zone amid ongoing conservation efforts.
Declare Kancha Gachibowli land as ecologically sensitive: PIL in Telangana HC
It emphasized the forest’s ecological significance, highlighting its diverse species, including endangered ones, as well as its two lakes and thousands of trees and shrubs that provide essential green space for the rapidly urbanizing city.
The forest is noted for its unique rock formations, including one informally known as “mushroom rock.” It encompasses Buffalo Lake and Peacock Lake, making it a crucial habitat for approximately 237 bird species, peacocks, and various wildlife such as spotted deer, wild boars, star tortoises, and several snake species, including the Indian rock python and boas.
Visuals of bulldozers flattening the University of Hyderabad area have emerged on social media platforms. In one such video, peacocks can be heard crying.
On Sunday, several students were detained by the Cyberabad police after they began protesting against JCBs clearing part of the UoH’s east campus. Police officials and other security personnel dressed in army clothing mercilessly dragged the protesting students into buses.
Students said they were roughed up, while some had their clothes torn and others received minor injuries in scuffles that ensued.
In the chaos, South First journalist Sumit Jha was taken into custody along with student protesters while filming their confrontation with the police.
University of Hyderabad students held as JCBs begin clearing campus forest
“They are picking anyone and everyone who went near the JCBs to protest,” the student from the University of Hyderabad, who did not want to be identified, told Siasat.com. On Saturday night, UoH students held a protest against the Telangana government’s proposal to develop 400 acres of land at Kancha Gachibowli here to develop IT parks.
On March 29, students protested inside the University of Hyderabad (UoH) campus, burning the effigy of the chief minister, condemning his recent statements in the Assembly on the issue.
Later, in a statement, the University of Hyderabad Students’ Union (UoHSU) stated, “Despite attempts to snatch the effigy and suppress the protest, the students’ union successfully resisted and burned the government’s effigy.”
Opposition parties, mainly the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) had condemned the Telangana government’s decision to sell the 400 acres of the university land. It extended full support to the ongoing protest by students.
Party working president KT Rama Rao (KTR) announced the decision after meeting a delegation of student union leaders and students from HCU at the Telangana Bhavan on March 24.
