‘Captives’ take wing at first chance

Curfew break was shopping time for many families in the Old City on Thursday, but for a few it was an opportunity to flee the trouble-torn area.People headed for the houses of their relatives or friends in the new city areas or even in other districts.“Curfew relaxation gave us a chance to head for Nizamabad. We can attend an engagement function there tomorrow and also stay in peace till the situation improves in the Old City,” Rehman from Falaknuma, who was proceeding to Nizamabad with his family, told Expresso.The operation of district bus services from the Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS) came as a boon to them.“Some of my friends have also temporarily shifted to safer places,” Rehman added.The case of AN Ramesh from Chandrayangutta was more pathetic. His family had to starve for two days due to lack of essentials.“Having run out of provisions, we spent two days without food. We are shifting temporarily to my relative’s place at Musheerabad,” said Ramesh, who was going along with his wife and two children.Their exit from the Old City, however, was not easy. Police blocked all the roads and only after intense persuasion were they allowed out.The blocking of the roads, on the other hand, led to traffic snarls at various place in the city. Vehicles going toward Moazamjahi Market, Koti, Abids, Putlibowli and Chandrayanagutta were diverted to other roads clogging them up and also forcing the office-goers and students to take a long detour.“I was going from Nampally to High Court and forced to take alternative routes. I got caught in the traffic jam at Nehru Chowk, Abids for more than an hour. Police played mute spectators even as traffic stalled for hours together,” Srinivas, an advocate said. Meanwhile, the CRPF personnel had to resort to mild lathicharge at Moazamjahi Market when vehicle riders insisted on proceeding towards the blocked Afzalgunj area.

By Mouli Mareedu

moulimareedu@gmail.com

Lost livelihoods

Clad in a green shirt and saffron `lungi’ with a peacock feather adorning his head, Sayanna Dora is on a frantic search for his friend at the Musheerabad and Kavadiguda crossroads.No wonder the loss of his oneand- a-half year friend drove Sayanna Dora into a state of depression for Ramu, the parrot, is his sole bread winner.Dora used to sit on the pavement near the GHMC playground at Musheerabad or at the Kavadiguda crossroads with his parrot, predicting the future of his clients. “Ramu was out of the cage picking a card for the client when suddenly violence broke out during a religious procession on Tuesday,” said Dora narrating their separation.Since then, Ramu did not return to his master and Dora’s search for it on trees and rooftops and enquiries with other footpath vendors and pavement dwellers in the locality on Wednesday proved futile. Having migrated from Nalgonda district to the city 10 years back, Dora was practicing parrot astrology regularly at the spot till yesterday.“Ramu helps me earn my daily bread. Customers from all religions and faiths come to me.Tuesday’s incident changed my fate completely,’’ he rued.Dora is not the only victim of the violence in the otherwise peaceful localities of Kavadiguda and Musheerabad.Sixty-eight-year-old Syed Afzal’s small cafe and pan shop in front of a place of worship near Musheerabad police station were severely damaged in the attack. He is now busy salvaging from the rubble and counting his losses.“They have ruined my livelihood,” rued Afzal but added that he would renovate it to run his family.“I came here (Musheerabad) when I was 10 years old. But Tuesday’s incident was the most traumatic one I had ever faced. Though I belong to a particular religion, am secular in my heart. Because of a few miscreants common people like me suffer financially and mentally,” he lamented.Afzal also lodged a police complaint but has little hopes of securing justcie.

By Mouli Mareedu

moulimareedu@gmail.com

Mob vents fury on hapless woman

For P Pushpavati, it was an ordeal that she would like to forget. She was among the several people caught in a ruckus created by a group of people who went berserk during a religious procession on Tuesday.With her newborn baby in the lap, Pushpavathi was pulled out of an auto and almost attacked by a mob before some Good Samaritans came to her rescue.Her only fault was engaging the auto of a person belonging to a particular community.A resident of Ashok Nagar, Pushpavati hired an auto to Gandhi hospital to get medicines.“The mob suddenly started assaulting the driver. They did not heed to my request to allow us to go,’’ a shocked Pushpavathi said.The mob was breaking the glass panes of the vehicle with flag rods when the CRPF teams rushed to the rescue of the driver and the woman.Pushpavati’s nightmare, however, did not end there. As the forces moved away, the mob returned and started attacking the vehicle and the driver again.It was a group of saffron-clad youngsters who came to the rescue of the auto driver and the woman. They managed to prevail upon the mob and forced them to disperse from there and took care of the duo. They gave them water and later sent them out of the melee safely.“I did not even make a comment against them. I was just taking the woman to the Gandhi hospital. They assaulted and abused me without a reason,’’ the horrified auto driver said.

 

By Mouli Mareedu

 

Violence spreads to New City

Curfew was extended to eight more localities on Tuesday as violence spread to other parts of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.One person was killed and many more were injured in the latest clashes between people belonging to two different communities.During the day, Old City, which is under curfew, remained peaceful but violence erupted in other areas like Musheerabad, Bholakpur, Kavadiguda and Begum Bazar.Police were caught off-guard as they didn’t expect the riots to spread beyond the Old City. They had to open 16 rounds of fire into the air at Begam Bazar alone to bring the situation under control.A 34-year-old Maharashtrian was bludgeoned to death with boulders at Mustaidpura under Tappachabutra limits. A resident of Shivrampally, he was a worker at a garment store in Putlibowli. He was on way to Puranapul along with his relative when he was attacked.Earlier in the day, the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad took out a massive rally, in which over 5,000 people participated, from a temple in Gowliguda Chaman to mark Hanuman Jayanti. The rally passed off peacefully till Musheerabad.It is alleged that some from among the crowd pelted stones at a few shops and establishments. Rival groups retaliated instantly and within no time, the two sides were hurling stones at each other. Inadequate number of police forces emboldened the rioters. Additional forces had to be rushed in from the Old City to Musheerabad. But by then, a dozen vehicles were set on fire and a house was torched.Mischief mongers rained stones on the police too. Similar scenes unfolded in the lanes and bylanes in Bholakpur and Kavadiguda where people from both communities targeted each other forcing the police to lob tear gas shells.All roads leading to Bholakpur and Musheerabad were sealed off. The saffron brigade then broke up into two groups with one melting into the area and the other marching towards Ranigunj and from there, to the Tadbun Hanuman Temple. Shops and establishments on the stretch downed shutters. At Secunderabad, the mobs targeted a famous biryani joint and damaged its windows besides some vehicles. At the RP Road, they attacked a cafe. A place of worship, coming up in the middle of the road at Secunderabad, also came under attack. The angry mob pulled out and burnt religious flags in front of a battery of policemen. Nearly a dozen people, including two police constables, were also roughed up.Similar scenes were witnessed at Begum Bazar Chatri during a religious procession. When police stopped it, enraged locals pelted stones on them and set on fire a police vehicle, damaged another and torched a police outpost and a place of worship.A couple of business establishments were also set on fire forcing the police to lob tear gas shells and use rubber bullets.Four persons were injured in the incident. ‘‘It was unprovoked.We were only taking out a peaceful procession but the police tried to stop it,’’ a local, who suffered a head injury, said. The situation was brought under control after Rapid Action Forces (RAF) reached the spot and dispersed the mob.Late at night, violence was reported from other parts of the city. A 25-year-old was attacked with sharp weapons by two motor-cycle borne miscreants at Malakpet. A car was also set ablaze in the same locality. At Feelkhana, people belonging to two communities fought a pitched battle, reports said.

By Mouli Mareedu

moulimareedu@gmail.com

Have a private guard? You may be in for trouble!

Have you hired or planning to hire private security guards to protect  your home or office? If yes, better do a background check immediately to avoid being caught on the wrong side of the law as many of them are found to be taking up the jobs furnishing gun licences or weapons obtained illegally by furnishing fake certificates.On the other hand, the police have also warned all private security agencies of stern action if they do not reveal complete information to the Task Force about the persons they are recruiting as security guards.Only a couple of days ago, three Biharis working as armed security guards at a star hotel near Tank bund were arrested by the Task Force for procuring firearms by submitting fake papers.Task Force DCP VB Kamalasan Reddy told Expresso that the recent arrests have unearthed a major racket in forging documents to obtain gun licences. Police suspect the racketeers have nexus with inter-state gunrunners and criminals in Bihar.Hundreds of those posted as security guards at various companies and mansions have illegal weapons obtained from Nagaland, Orissa and Assam. “We have issued notices to several agencies in this regard,” the DCP said.About 2,000 private security agencies operate in the twin cities deploying around 10,000 security guards at client premises.“Many from Bihar are migrating to the city and joining security agencies that are offering them good pay packets. Most of them allegedly possess illegal guns and fake licences, which were obtained by furnishing fake documents,” he said.Citing another case, he said four persons from Bihar, posted as security guards at a multi-national company at Madhapur, were arrested as they possessed illegal arms obtained by furnishing fake documents in Nagaland.In the recent case, police found during the probe that the gun licences of the arrested guards were forged as no records related to them were found with the district administration concerned. District authorities maintain a record of gun licence holders who live in their respective districts.

By Mouli Mareedu
moulimareedu@gmail.com

NIMS, Gandhi in water crisis

Not only are the patients being put to severe inconvenience but even medical services face the threat of disruption due to acute water scarcity at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) and Gandhi hospital. Alarmed at the water crisis and the possible disastrous consequences if it continues for some more time, the managements of both hospitals have decided to take up the matter with the GHMC and Hyderabad Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) to ensure regular supplies to the institutions.Managements of both hospitals say categorically that it will become difficult to run medical services if water shortage is not solved.“Hospitals need water every day and certain departments, especially dialysis wards, operation theatres and kitchens, cannot run without water. We have somehow been managing so far despite irregular water supply,” Dr VL Rao, Resident Medical Officer (RMO) of Gandhi hospital told Expresso.“We will definitely try to save as much water as possible and also look for alternate sources. But if we face a water cut, we will be in trouble,’’ he said.As many as 700 beds in the 1600-bed capacity hospital are occupied by inpatients and doctors expect more admissions in the summer due to seasonal diseases. “The hospital requires about 15 lakh litres of water per day and the requirement is likely to go up in the summer,” Dr Rao said.The situation is no different at NIMS where even medical services are being affected badly. Though officials are tight-lipped over the water situation, patients are venting their anger.“The hospital authorities told us that in view of severe water shortage the supplies are being rationed and if we needed more we have to get it from outside,’’ said S Lakshmamma, relative of a patient, who came from Karimnagar district.“We get water once in two or three days and even that doesn’t reach all.Sometimes, we don’t even have water to drink,” another attendant said.Luckily, Niloufer and Osmania General hospitals do not face water shortage as of now. Niloufer hospital Resident Medical Officer Usha Rani said the hospital has regular water supply as it has a direct pipeline.Dr Subbalakshmi, Resident Medical Officer (RMO) of Osmania General Hospital, said there is no water scarcity at the hospital at present and they will get additional water tanks from the water board if the requirement goes up in the near future.

By Mouli Mareedu
moulimareedu@gmail.com