HYDERABAD: In what amounted to a breach of security at the CoP-11 venue of Hitex, Telangana supporters on Sunday staged a protest in support of the ‘Telangana’ agitation on the premises. About 16 members of the Telangana Advocates’ JAC entered the convention centre and raised slogans in support of a separate state.
During the sit-in, the protesters also tried to highlight how the biodiversity of the Telangana region was being consistently destroyed.
The protesters also announced that they would publish and distribute a booklet on Telangana among the delegates at the global meet.
With the incident happening just about a week before the commencement of the biodiversity conference, observers said that the administration’s tall claims of having provided foolproof security at the venue had fallen flat. T Sriranga Rao, the convenor of the Telangana Advocates’ JAC, said that the venue was chosen so as to draw attention to some of the issues related to Telangana.
“Over the years, the biodiversity of the Telangana region is not only being destroyed but also neglected. In Hyderabad and surrounding areas, the situation is worse with water bodies, natural rock formations and green cover disappearing rapidly,” Rao said.
He added that his group wanted the foreign delegates to learn about the Telangana issue. “We will be publishing about 15,000 booklets which will be distributed near the venue for the meet.
“It would focus on the architecture, history, culture, ethos, architecture and the unique identity of the region,” he said.
The members also revealed that they would request the Telangana Joint Action Committee to hold the million march at Jubilee Hills checkpost instead of at Tank Bund since it was closer to the CoP-11 venue at Hitex.
However, the members declared that they were not against the biodiversity meet. The protestors were taken in to custody by Madhapur police but released in the evening. [Times of India]