Worried over Hyderabad’s brand image of a global destination to host international events taking a beating if some untoward incidents take place during the Telangana March on September 30, Ministers from Telangana decided to appeal to the Telangana joint action committee (T-JAC) to put off the march.
In the backdrop of the T-JAC being firm on going ahead with Telangana March and its fallout on 11 Conference of Parties beginning on October 1, a perturbed government convened a meeting at short notice with the Ministers from the region on Thursday night.
Over a dozen Ministers attended the meeting chaired by Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and expressed serious concern at the likely damage any violent incident could cause to the prestigious international event.
“All the Ministers from Telangana have decided to make an appeal to the T-JAC to postpone the march. The Chief Minister will also make similar appeal and hold an all-party meeting on the issue,” Minister for Information and Public Relations D.K. Aruna told The Hindu on Thursday night. Ministers were of the opinion that it was once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Andhra Pradesh to project Hyderabad as a global destination. Majority of the Ministers feared that the march, almost coinciding with the Ganesh Nimmajanam on September 29 and 30, could trigger violence.
“As the march would be held on Tank Bund along with immersion, there is a likelihood of anti-social elements taking advantage of the situation and indulging in violence,” another Minister remarked.
It is understood that the Ministers said just one incident was enough to ruin the image of Hyderabad, which the government has been carefully nurturing over a period of time. They pointed out that at least two global conventions pertaining to medical practitioners and agriculture were slated in November and December this year respectively.
