Hyderabad, 1 April

Students of the University of Hyderabad (UoH) on Tuesday staged protests against the Telangana government's plans to develop the 400-acre land parcel bordering the varsity land.

The students gathered at the main gate of the institution and raised slogans against the Congress government.

The University of Hyderabad Students’ Union (UoHSU) and other unions and parties aligned with it and also the ABVP held separate protests at the university.

UoHSU vice president Akash demanded that the police and more than 50 earthmoving machines "razing down the forests" in the land should be taken away from the university immediately.

The University of Hyderabad Students’ Union (UoHSU), has announced an indefinite protest and boycott of classes from Tuesday, demanding the removal of police personnel and earth-moving machinery from the campus.

Akash said students and teachers were urged to join the protest on campus and boycott classes.

In a joint statement, the UoHSU and other students' associations associated with it accused the university administration of "betraying" students by facilitating land clearing activities for the state government on 400 acres at Kancha Gachibowli abutting the university. They also condemned the "brutal police crackdown" on peaceful demonstrators.

The protesting students demanded a written assurance that the land would be formally registered under the university.

Additionally, they called for the public release of minutes of the Executive Committee meeting held on the issue by the university and greater transparency in land-related documents.

Anil, president of ABVP in the UoH, said the 400 acres of land is home to diverse flora and fauna, including peacocks, deers, 230 bird varieties and also endangered species.

ABVP would continue the fight to protect the ecosystem and to teach a lesson to the Congress government, he told PTI videos.

Abhishek Kumar, who is pursuing Masters in Communications at the university, said it is not just a question of land but its biodiversity.

More than 50 earthmoving machinery have been working at the land leaving the animals in distress, he said.

The government should give up the plan to undertake development at the land for the sake of biodiversity, he said.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar and other BJP MPs from Telangana called on Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in Delhi and sought his intervention in the issue.

The BJP MPs requested Pradhan to take appropriate measures to protect the lands and the biodiversity, a release from Sanjay Kumar's office said here.

BJP MLAs Payala Shankar and others, who were scheduled to visit the UoH, were detained by the police at MLAs quarters in the city.

They were later released.

BJP MLA A Maheshwar Reddy told PTI that he was not permitted to step out of his residence by the police.

Also, the police did not issue any notice to him as to why he was being prevented.

The Telangana government's plans to develop IT infrastructure and others on 400 acres of land over which student groups of UoH held protests intensified on Monday with the government maintaining that the land parcel belonged to it and not the varsity.

However, the UoH Registrar contradicted the government's claim that the boundary of the land in question was finalised.