Removing the barricades and defying prohibitory orders imposed by the police, thousands of people thronged Tank Bund (of Hussain Sagar lake) here on Thursday in response to the 'Million March' held by the Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) comprising various political parties and pro-Telangana outfits.
However, even after TJAC said the march was concluded, the crowd did not disperse. Instead, they destroyed a mobile van of a TV channel and burnt a police van. They attacked mediapersons and damaged as many as 25 TV cameras.
Consequently, the police resorted to cane charge and lobbed teargas shells to disperse the unruly mob. The situation remained tense till late in the evening
The activists, who poured into the place in the afternoon from different directions, took a pledge en masse as scheduled at four in the evening to intensify their stir for according a separate statehood to the Telangana region.
Though the police sealed all the routes leading to Tank Bund by erecting barricades and restricting traffic, they failed to prevent the march.
In spite of TJAC asserting repeatedly that the 'Million March' would be peaceful and would last just three hours from 1 pm till 4 pm, the police made heavy security arrangements and took into custody hundreds of people in various parts of the region including legislators of different parties and TJAC convenor, M Kodandaram.
A pitched battle ensued between the police and Osmania University students when the law enforcers blocked the students' rally leading to pelting of stones by the latter and lobbying of teargas shells by the former. Students dismantled the university's main gate.
Congress MPs, K Kesava Rao and Madhu Yashki, were manhandled by the angry crowd when they went to the venue of the march to extend their support .
In protest against the arrest of Kodandaram, the agitators vandalised some of the statues of legendary Telugu personalities installed on Tank Bund by thespian and former chief minister NT Rama Rao.
Meanwhile, normal life in the state capital was thrown out of gear as traffic restrictions came into force right from the morning hours. The operations of 47 local, passenger and express trains were suspended. The state road transport corporation did not ply its buses on the routes where restrictions were imposed.
Checkposts were set up on all the routes leading to Hyderabad from the rural areas. Buses and even some of the trains were checked by the police to stop people from travelling to take part in the rally.
In Hyderabad, traffic curbs led to huge jams at several places.
