Hyderabad was in the grip of severe tension on Friday evening amid fears of violence returning to the city during a controversial ‘Save Andhra Pradesh’ meeting scheduled to be held in the city on Saturday.

The state capital has been turned into a virtual fortress keeping in view threats from pro-Telangana agitators to disrupt the event.
Security has been beefed up across the city, especially in areas surrounding the Lal Bahadur Stadium, venue for the “awareness meeting”, as the organisors, AP NGOs’ association dub it. The police gave conditional permission to host the meeting between 2 and 5 pm Saturday.

The place assumes the countenance of a war zone, especially after the Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) has called for a 24-hour Telangana shutdown from Friday midnight. The Telangana forces have called for the bandh to protest what they call the state government’s partisan attitude. They are angry about the state allowing the AP NGOs meeting while setting aside their request for a sports meet at the same venue the same day.

Anticipating serious trouble from the pro-Telangana forces, the administration is taking no chances. Police and paramilitary forces have been deployed at all key points in the city. A multi-layered security net has been thrown around stadium and roads leading to the venue and within a radius of 1 km are also being sealed off on one side.

About eight checkpoints have been set up in the region to ensure that every person passing by is thoroughly frisked and checked for identity.
Dozens of paramilitary and rapid action forces have already been deployed inside the stadium for smooth conduct of the meeting. Special police teams will keep a close watch on intruders trying to create trouble inside.

All educational institutions and business establishments have been advised to remain closed for the day on Saturday. Private sector employees were asked to make alternative arrangements to reach their workplaces.

The authorities aim to ensure utmost safety to supporters and representatives of AP NGOs flocking to the venue. They fear a series of untoward incidents targeting the organisers coming into the city in the wake of warnings by Osmania University (OU) JAC and other pro-Telangana agitators to unleash physical attacks on the participants.

Despite fears of physical attacks, the AP NGOs vow to make their meeting a grand success. Union leaders have appealed to the employees to exercise restraint even if provoked. They also made a passionate appeal to their Telangana counterparts not to disrupt their event and sought their full cooperation.
The police authorities are not likely to allow more than 30,000 people inside the stadium even as the AP NGOs expect a turnout of 50,000 and above. The NGOs have also appealed to the political class to keep out of their meeting.

The police have announced that only government employees would be allowed inside after duly checking their identity cards. Thousands of NGOs have begun the journey, either by road or train, as reports reached the state capital late Friday evening as we file this report.