High tension prevailed in the heart of Chittoor town on Saturday night, when former MLA C.K. Jayachandra Reddy alias C.K. Babu and his followers went to the Church Street in a bid to reclaim the flower market area near the Apurva Textiles showroom to allow the merchants to continue their business there.
The market was destroyed a few months ago in a fire and the flower vendors were not willing to relocate to a nearby place allocated to them.
According to information, the flower merchants approached C.K. Babu with a plea that they should be allowed to continue at the same venue at the Church Street. An earthmover was brought there to remove the debris (which fell there during the fire) so that the merchants could resume their business.
Serious arguments
Officials of the Chittoor Municipal Corportion and leaders of the ruling Telugu Desam rushed there, preventing Mr. Babu and his men from reoccupying the abandoned area. Amidst serious arguments, Mr. Babu began a protest at the venue.
Police personnel led by the town Dy. SP reached the area and tried to pacify the situation, but in vain. Those supporting the flower merchants had reportedly clashed with the police and the TDP leaders.
When the situation seemed to go out of control, the police resorted to lathi-charge on the clashing groups. The supporters of both Mr. Babu and TDP leaders, including district president P. Nani and MLC Dorababu, reached there in large numbers. After an hour, the police took control of the area and posted special parties to prevent any untoward turn of events.
Police spokesman Nayeem Baig said the situation was fully under control, and that senior officers were monitoring the issue.
