Demand for Dharna Chowk gets shriller

​Hyderabad: In the last few years, there was never an occasion when Dharna Chowk, a bastion for activists and politicians wore a deserted look on the eve of Gandhi Jayanti. The father of the nation who was the catalyst in Indian freedom struggle used peaceful protest as a weapon. Activists in the city are raising their voice to remove the ban on Dharna Chowk as place of protest.

“It is quite clear that KCR wants to snuff out all political dissent and will go to any length to do this. Osmania University was the focal point for the Telangana statehood movement. But the chief minister wants to even silence the students there,” says P Vinay Kumar, a surgeon-turned-politico. 

Dharna Chowk has been in existence for 12 years. In 2005, Dharna Chowk was identified a designated place for public demonstrations. It has been a place where people raised their voices, expressed their dissent on myriad issues. After Dharna Chowk came up, the place has been liberally used for protests – and those using the venue also included the ruling TRS before it came to power.

In May 2017, government intended to ban dharnas at the present Dharna Chowk on basis of aggravation to the public. Since then there have been heated arguments on the issue. On September 19, the Hyderabad High Court directed the Telangana Government to make its stance clear on Dharna Chowk within 15 days. 

Vendors hit badly
The closure of Dharna Chowk has hit business of hawkers and vendors. Venkat, a coconut vendor said he now finds it hard to make both ends meet. Likewise, several lemonade sellers now have to wait for customers. Raju, whose business hit an all-time low said that there is no other business that he knows and getting a place to set up his push-cart is difficult.”   It is said that resident welfare associations of colonies in the neighbourhood and walkers’ associations of the area have complained that the regular protests disrupt their lives. 

There was a departmental inquiry to investigate newspaper reports about policemen in plainclothes taking part in anti-Dharna Chowk protests. Commenting on government’s statement of ‘Dharnas causing inconvenience to the commuters, B. Ramakrishna Raju said, “We are in no way causing inconvenience to the public. There’s always a smooth flow of traffic even during protests.” 

Even though there were people getting injured, followed by heated arguments, the activists relentlessly protested the ban of further protests at the present Dharna Chowk. They have claimed this to be a silly move by the government to stop people from protesting which the High Court of Hyderabad turned down.

By: Asna Khundmiri