University of Hyderabad Protest: The situation at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) On March 30 2025 started getting tense due to the protests of students as they raged against Telangana Govt. to auction 400 acres of land adjacent to the UoH east campus at Kancha Gachibowli. This area is being considered by the state to be developed into IT park, a step which university community has been growingly opposing citing environmental issues and loss of biodiversity.
The situation escalated as earth-moving equipment started clearing the land, leading students to mobilize and confront the activity. Protesters climbed on the equipment and chanted slogans against the government. Law enforcement forces responded by arresting some 53 students, who were subsequently released.
The students union condemned the police action, claiming the protests were peaceful and well within their democratic rights. They condemned the administration’s silence about it and underscored the ecological significance of the disputed landscape. The UoHSU along with the faculty association and staff association has formed a Joint Action Committee to explore litigation to halt the land auction and to call upon the university administration for a concrete position.
Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy defended the development project, saying the land in question is not part of the university’s property, it is in the city’s IT hub. He claimed that opposition parties had instigated student unrest to derail development activities and said the protests were politically motivated.
The land clearing continued in spite of the protests, as excavators increased from eight to forty overnight, to further speed the process along. Students also say their opposition has been strong because the move would destroy the ecological balance and green space, and this has also kept the student’s opposition fires burning stronger against the government’s plans.
The controversy has also sparked political debates with opposition parties blaming the government for how the situation was handled, and also the police for how it treated student protesters. The university community is deeply committed to protecting the environmental integrity of the land in question as the development project moves forward.
