High alert in Seemandhra, Hyderabad

Police and paramilitary forces in Andhra Pradesh, especially in Seemandhra and Hyderabad went on high alert Tuesday in view of a possible decision on separate statehood to Telangana region.

With UPA coordination panel and Congress Working Committee meeting in the evening to take a decision on the future of the state, security was tightened in Seemandhra (Rayalaseema and Andhra regions) to tackle any situation.

More paramilitary forces were rushed to towns in Seemandhra to prevent any outbreak of violence in the event of a decision to carve out separate Telangana state.

The centre has dispatched 1,000 personnel from paramilitary forces like Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

Officials said this is in addition to 1,200 personnel deployed last week. The personnel rushed to the state include those mobilized from neighbouring states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Security has also been beefed up in Hyderabad with the deployment of police and paramilitary personnel to prevent any untoward incident. Security personnel were deployed at vital installations and the businesses owned by the industrialists from Seemandhra.

More than 10 companies of paramilitary forces (each company comprising 125 men) have been deployed in Hyderabad, which has a huge chunk of population of migrants from Seemandhra.

Thousands of policemen from Andhra Pradesh Special Police, Armed Reserve and Special Protection Force have been deployed in all nine districts of coastal Andhra and four districts of Rayalaseema. The deployment is huge in towns like Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry, Kakinada, Eluru, Vijayawada, Guntur, Nellore, Chittoor, Tirupati, Kadapa, Anantapur and Kurnool.

Union home ministry is in touch with the state authorities to monitor the situation. The state has been directed to use, if necessary, the central forces already deployed in the state for anti-Maoist operations.

The security personnel deployed for ongoing panchayat elections will be utilized for maintaining law and order. The deployment will continue even after third phase of panchayat polls Wednesday.