Hyderabad: Incidences of communal violence have been increasing in the city — from 31 in 2002 to 106 in 2012.
The police say that even low-key festivals like Hanuman Jayanti and Milad-Un-Nabi are now made into a big show of strength. Leaders from outside the city often give insensitive speeches, and the use of SMSs to mobilise a crowd and spread rumours are other factors that create communal tensions.
A recent report to the GoM on Telangana had focussed on the communal violence incidents. The report marked around 27 Assembly constituencies as hypersensitive, mostly in Adilabad, Nizamabad, Medak and Mahbubnagar.
Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy in his presentation to the Group of Ministers recently said that many areas in Telangana, including Hyderabad, are communally hypersensitive and the city has seen several communal riots during the last 35 years.
According to additional commissioner of police Amit Garg, social media too are responsible for desecration of places of worship and other objectionable visuals being posted on the sites. The protests are taking communal colour and leading to violence.
Meanwhile, a recent report to GoM by the CM said that any minor communal incidents in the city have a direct bearing on the communal situation in the entire state, particularly in eight to 10 districts. To maintain communal harmony in the city, large contingents of police forces are mobilised from coastal and Rayalaseema districts.
For instance, during the Ganesh festival, a force of about 25,000 is drawn every year from the district for a period of 15 days. As the forces will not be available in the event of bifurcation, the new state of Telangana should raise an additional force of 25,000 which will be 40 per cent of the existing force. This will mean incurring huge additional expenditure, the report said.
