Shobha Yatra held peacefully

Hyderabad: The Hanuman Jayanti Shobha Yatra on Friday was held peacefully. There was, however, mild tension in Karmanghat when the cops objected to the use of a DJ sound system in the yatra, leading to a huge tra-ffic jam for around an hour. The yatra later continued with the organisers deciding to move ahead without the DJ system.
Members from other communities also pitched in, coming forward to assist the devotees by serving th-em buttermilk and drinking water in many areas.

The entire route of the yatra was under surveillance and monitored by the police. The yatra began from the Gowliguda temple at arou-nd 10.30 am and concluded at the Hanuman mandir in Tadbund at Old Bowen-pally by evening. During the procession, the roads and the surroundings reverberated with “Jai Sri Ram” slogans and devotees from across the city, including children and youth, carrying saffron flags, participated in the rally. Even the 43ºC scorching heat could not keep the devotees away from the yatra.

When the yatra entered the Narayanaguda area, people from other communities welcomed the devotees and served them butter milk and drinking water. Hyderabad police commissioner Mr M. Mahen-der Reddy said that the yatra was completed peacefully with the cooperation of the organisers and the devotees. The yatra was monitored with around 350 CCTV cameras installed along the 15-kilometre route and the footages were continuously monitored from the Command and Control centre. Around 5,000 personnel were deployed for the yatra bandobast in various areas and for the main procession.

Earlier, when the procession had reached the Karmanghat area under the limits of the Meerpet police station, cops had objected to the use of the DJ system, due to which devotees staged a protest on the road, leading to a traffic jam. "After we explained to them about the restrictions on using DJ systems, the organisers agreed and the procession moved ahead peacefully," said Meerpet inspector J. Venkat Reddy.