By IANS,
Hyderabad : Statues of 16 Telugu poets, writers and rulers were vandalised by Telangana protesters during the ‘million march’ at Tank Bund here Thursday.
The protestors demolished some statues and threw them in Hussain Sagar Lake and disfigured the others. The historic figures belonging to Andhra and Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh became the target.
The statues of famous Telugu poets Yerrapragada, Sri Sri, Gurram Jashuva, Annamayya and Vemana, the famous king of Vijayanagar empire Srikrishnadevaraya and social reformer Kandukuri Veeresalingam were completely or partially damaged.
The mob also destroyed the platforms on which the statues were installed and even removed plates carrying their names and brief history.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Arun Sabarwal said a total of 16 statues were damaged.
The attackers also left long ropes around the necks of some statues and put up flags and banners of various parties.
It was in 1980s that the then chief minister N.T. Rama Rao had installed the statues of 33 historical figures of Telugus on Tank Bund along the lake to highlight the contributions they made for the growth of Telugu language and culture.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy has condemned the damage caused to the statues. He said damaging the statues of personalities who brought laurels to the state and to the nation was highly condemnable.