Students remained seated outside the university’s main gate after nightfall, chanting slogans and pledging to continue the protest until all detained students – held across the Marapur, Kollur, and Raidurg police stations – are released.
Published Mar 30, 2025 | 9:20 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 30, 2025 | 9:39 PM
University of Hyderabad students protest amidst heavy police presence. (Supplied)
Synopsis: Students at the University of Hyderabad continued their sit-in protest on Sunday against a proposed auction of 400 acres of forested land on campus, as authorities began clearing the area on Ugadi, the Hindu New Year. Despite nightfall, demonstrators remained at the university’s main gate, chanting slogans and vowing to continue until the release of fellow students arrested earlier in the day during a confrontation with police.
Tensions remained high at the University of Hyderabad as students continued their day-long sit-in protest late into the night on Sunday, 30 March, demanding the release of 14 fellow students detained earlier in the day during demonstrations against the Telangana government’s proposed land auction in Kancha Gachibowli.
Despite police agreeing to release the detained protestors, students remained seated outside the university’s main gate after nightfall, chanting slogans and pledging to continue the protest until all detained students – held across the Madhapur, Kollur, and Raidurg police stations – return safe and sound.
The protest began after the state moved to auction 400 acres of land – considered ecologically sensitive – through the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC). The situation escalated when bulldozers arrived to begin clearing operations on Ugadi, the Hindu New Year.
Police have maintained a heavy presence around the campus, with the university gates being intermittently opened and closed.
The Telangana government’s plan to auction 400 acres of land – estimated to be worth ₹10,000 crore – for information technology and mixed-use development has drawn criticism from students, faculty, and environmental activists.
The proposed auction zone includes the historic Mushroom Rock formation, parts of the School of Economics, university-constructed helipads, several lakes, and areas of dense biodiversity.
The land is home to more than 220 species of birds, 15 species of reptiles, 10 species of mammals, and rare wildlife such as the Four-Horned Antelope and the Indian Rock Python.
Critics, including the Students’ Union, the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), and the “Save City Forest” campaign – which is leading the protests, have called the move “a betrayal of public education and environmental preservation.”
The land was originally allotted to the university in 1974. However, in 2022, the Telangana High Court ruled that the state retains ownership due to the absence of a Deed of Conveyance.
The government says ecologically sensitive areas will be excluded from the auction and has promised “sustainable development,” but students and faculty remain unconvinced.
University officials say they were not consulted about the auction and dispute the accuracy of the TSIIC-issued maps.
They claim no formal survey was conducted and note that structures like the School of Economics have been marked within the proposed auction zone.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
