Hyderabad: Hyderabad is under police siege as Seemandhra employees are set to hold 'save Andhra Pradesh' meeting amid tight security later Saturday during a shutdown in Telangana, which brought normal life to halt.
The city is on the edge as hundreds of policemen and personnel from paramilitary forces have been deployed in view of the threats by some Telangana groups to disrupt the meeting being organized by Andhra Pradesh Non-Gazetted Officers (APNGOs) Association to oppose proposed bifurcation of the state.
Accusing the state government of anti-Telangana attitude, Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) has called for 24-hour shutdown, which began Friday midnight. The state-owned Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) buses went off the roads in Hyderabad and nine other districts of Telangana. Educational institutions, shops and business establishments were closed.
TJAC is protesting the police permission for the APNGOs meeting and denial of the same to it and other groups for peace rallies. Osmania University Joint Action Committee has threatened to disrupt the meet.
Lal Bahadur Stadium in the heart of the city has turned into a fortress with the police sealing off all routes and allowing only government employees from Seemandhra (Rayalaseema and Andhra). Barricades have been erected about two km radius from the stadium.
