Students are used to following routines and those at the Osmania University are no exceptions. The campus, which has become the nerve centre for the Telangana movement, however, follows a timetable of its own in times of agitation.
A campus student’s routine basically revolves around a breakfast-college-lunch-library schedule but it has deviated a bit at OU.
After breakfast, OU students go through the newspapers to keep abreast of the developments on a separate Telangana. They then gradually assemble in front of the Arts College and dissect the news and political developments. By 10.30 am, almost everyone is there.
The students then proceed to burn effigies of some political figure or the other and take out a rally shouting slogans. Amid drum-rolls they either march towards the Osmania University Police Station or go towards the NCC Gate and clash with the security personnel waiting for them.
Till 11 am they stage a protest demanding that the police to let them outside the campus to take out the rally. A brief scuffle ensues and the police resort to a mild lathicharge. The agitators then rush back inside the campus and start pelting stones at the cops, who retaliate by lobbing tear gas shells and stun grenades.
The stand-off continues till 12.30 pm or 1 pm, lunchtime.
A batch of students leaves for their hostels for lunch while the remaining agitators continue their confrontation with the police. The first batch then returns to relieve those who stayed back. After a while the agitators retreat, and this is when the students as well the police take a breather till around 3.30 pm.
Between 4 pm and 4.30 pm the students once again emerge from their rooms and start pelting stones on the OU police station from B Hostel.
This continues till the policemen become agitated and start throwing back the stones that were directed at them. The students then climb the B Hostel and hurl Molotov cocktail at police vehicles and the cops retaliate by firing tear gas shells into the rooms and terrace of B Hostel.