Hyderabad, Sep 6: Police in Hyderabad foiled the attempts by the BJP to take out a rally from Balapur to Bhagyalakshmi Temple at Charminar on Sunday, ahead of Telangana Liberation Day, drawing angry protests from the party.

BJP in-charge for Maheswaram constituency, Andela Sriramulu Yadav and other party leaders were detained when they tried to take out ‘Vimochana Jaitrayatra’.

The BJP condemned the denial of permission for the rally.

“The fact that the Congress government denied permission for a rally from Balapur to the Charminar Bhagyalakshmi Temple on the occasion of Telangana Liberation Day clearly demonstrates how much it fears democracy and the spirit of patriotism. Having imposed restrictions on ‘Vande Mataram,’ the Congress party is now obstructing even the celebrations meant to honour the spirit of independence,” reads a social media post by the party’s Telangana unit.

Meanwhile, Telangana BJP President N. Ramchander Rao asked if celebrating Telangana Liberation Day is a crime in Congress-ruled Telangana.

“Having sunk to deep depths of appeasement, Congress Party has once again crushed democracy by “stopping the Vimochana Jaitrayatra from Balapur to Charminar and arresting Maheshwaram BJP in-charge,” he said.

“Why is Congress so afraid of celebrating Telangana Liberation Day? We may have moved far beyond 1948, but Congress mindset is still Razakar and Nizam DNA. In its rampant vote-bank politics and appeasement, Congress has forgotten that India is a democracy. BJP leaders are stopped, detained and arrested for everything, from dharnas and protests to even celebrating Telangana Liberation Day. Shame!,” Ramchander Rao posted on ‘X’.

The BJP is gearing up to celebrate Telangana Liberation Day on September 17. It was on this day in 1948 that the then Hyderabad State was annexed into the Indian Union.

For the fifth consecutive year, the Centre is organising Hyderabad Liberation Day celebrations at Parade Grounds, Secunderabad.

Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan will be the chief guest at this year’s event. He will hoist the National Flag and review the parade by the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF).

Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy and others will attend the event.

The Central and State governments will be celebrating the day with different themes.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy will unfurl the National Flag at the main event to be held at the Public Garden in Hyderabad. For the third year in a row, the state government is celebrating it as ‘Telangana Praja Palana Dinotsavam’ (people’s governance day).

State ministers, government advisors, and key representatives will hoist the National Flag and take the salute at the official celebrations in all 32 district headquarters.

The National Flag will also be unfurled at all government offices, urban local bodies, and gram panchayats.

While the earlier Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government celebrated September 17 as ‘National Integration Day’ in 2022 and 2023, the Congress, which came to power in December 2023, decided to celebrate the occasion as ‘Praja Palana Dinotsvam’.

New Delhi, Sep 6: Following the collapse of a multi-storied building in Delhi Satya Niketan area, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) RK Puram MLA Anil Kumar Sharma said that several students who were residing in a Paying Guest accommodation within the structure, are trapped under the debris and that some of them are calling for help by making phone calls from beneath the rubble.

Delhi Police confirmed that two people have been rescued so far while maintaining that rescue operation is currently underway at the site.

Speaking to reporters at the site, BJP MLA Anil Kumar Sharma called it an “extremely tragic incident”.

“Nothing could be more heartbreaking than this. Children who came from various regions to study here and were residing in a PG accommodation…the building has collapsed,” he said.

Maintaining that exact figures of those trapped cannot be revealed at the moment, Sharma said: “Students are trapped underneath the debris, that is clear.”

“Just now, two children were pulled out, and teams from the disaster management forces, MCD, and the police department have rushed them to the hospital. Other children remain trapped inside,” he added.

The BJP leader further said, “Some of the children are even making phone calls from beneath the rubble. Several children are still trapped. Continuous rescue efforts are underway, and we are praying for their safety.”

Anil Sharma said that Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has dispatched the full emergency response team to the spot and that Delhi BJP chief and MP Harsh Malhotra, is in constant contact over the phone.

“The entire administration is deeply concerned and closely monitoring the situation. Our foremost and immediate priority is to rescue the children by all possible means,” he said.

Meanwhile, a local who rushed to site following the tragedy, said: “There was a PG inside the building. Four floors were constructed which collapsed. There are several students trapped inside, including women.”

Another local added: “We have learned that around 20 to 30 students are trapped inside. This happened around 11:30 to 11:45 AM.”

New Delhi, Sep 6: In a tragic incident, a building collapsed in south Delhi Satya Niketan area on Sunday, with several feared trapped in the debris, officials said.

The building collapsed near the Shiv Mandir at Satya Niketan in the Moti Bagh area.

The Delhi Fire Brigade said it was informed about the incident around 1:30 pm.

Officials said that around 1.50 pm, Station Officer (STO) Narender reached the scene and informed that a building had collapsed and some people were trapped under it. He asked for senior officers and more manpower.

Accordingly, an SWT, a Big Fire Tender (BFT), an Officer-in-Charge, DO Mukesh Verma and STO Manoj were sent to the incident site.

Delhi Police said that a rescue operation has been launched at the site. The number of people trapped will be confirmed later.

In a similar case reported last month, one person died and three people were left injured after a two-storey building collapsed while being demolished in the Karol Bagh area, officials said.

As per preliminary enquiry, the building was being demolished by a private contractor engaged by the owners.

Officials said that no permission for demolition had been obtained from the agency concerned.

The building had suddenly collapsed during the demolition work, trapping labourers working at the site.

According to officials, the incident was reported at Karol Bagh Police Station at around 11.15 a.m. from Pyare Lal Road at Regarpura in the area.

Upon receiving the information, police staff immediately reached the spot and initiated rescue efforts.

Police said that four labourers were injured in the incident. One of them, Sheikh Shamshad, succumbed to his injuries. His body was shifted to the mortuary at Lady Hardinge Medical College Hospital.

Among the other three injured workers, Md. Ayub sustained serious injuries, including a head injury and fracture of the right hand. He was referred to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and his condition is said to be critical.

While Sheikh Saidul sustained limb injuries and is undergoing treatment at Jeevan Mala Hospital, Rafik-Ul sustained minor injuries and subsequently left for his residence.

Police, along with fire services, carried out rescue operations and ensured that the injured persons were shifted to hospital for treatment.

The building owners and the contractor had been detained for enquiries.