HYDERABAD: `Down with corruption’ placards and angry voices of citizens blaring into microphones demanding a `fresh’ Lokpal Bill was a common sight across the city on Friday as hundreds of Hyderabadis took to the streets to rally behind Anna Hazare and support his fast-unto-death campaign.

From hunger strikes to rallies, candle-light marches and even sit-ins were organised at several significant places in the twin cities which saw denizens, cutting across age, class and religion, participate in huge numbers. Though miles away from Jantar Mantar, Anna’s `satyagraha’ movement against corruption seemed to have spread like wildfire across Hyderabad in no time.

From early morning on Friday, the streets around Necklace Road, Jalagam Vengal Rao Park (Banjara Hills), Indira Park (Domalguda) and KBR Park were seen swarming with motley groups of people either displaying placards saying `Corruption weakens our nation’ and `Honesty is a virtue’ or shouting slogans condemning the central government’s inaction regarding the Lokpal Bill. Besides representatives from civil society groups in the city, college students, young professionals and even senior citizens formed part of these demonstrations that were carried out in various parts of the city through the day.

At Indira Park, over 500 denizens poured in to sit on a relay hunger strike to support Anna and vowed not to leave the venue till their leader in Delhi called off his fast. The numbers swelled as the day progressed with celebrities, politicians and scores of otherwise apolitical Hyderabadis too joining in to be part of the mammoth movement.

“I have never seen a campaign of such proportions in Hyderabad ever before,” said K Madhusudhan, a banker who not only participated in one of the early morning rallies but even found time to be part of the candle-light march held in the evening, for the same cause, his 9-5 job notwithstanding. Being organised by Youth for Better India (YBI), the march kickstarted from Indira Park to culminate at the Ambedkar statue on Tank Bund. The response was overwhelming, said the organisers.

The footpath outside Secretariat too turned into a battlefield by Friday afternoon with a handful of adamant citizens refusing to call off their protest, despite police warnings. The crowd here was also a mix of young students, techies and entrepreneurs. Besides flashing placards, the group was also seen distributing pamphlets in the hope of educating the people about the Lokpal Bill and mobilising more denizens to render their support to the cause.

“We are planning to organise discussions on the Bill over the next few days to spread awareness among people. The rallies will also continue,” said Abdul Mujeeb Khan of Bhumi that along with the National Alliance for Peoples’ Movement and United Forum for Right to Information had spearheaded the walk from Jalavihar to IMAX earlier in the day. Taking up the cause were senior citizen groups too, which not only marked their presence at these demonstrations, but even sent out bulk e-mails to Members of Parliament appealing to them to give in to the demand for a revised Lokpal Bill.

Over the next few days, the city is likely to witness dozens of similar rallies and hunger strikes with a `jail bharo’ campaign slated for April 13 (following a call given by Anna) and some social groups planning a motor-cycle march across the city to register their support for the movement. Clearly, this fight against corruption is far from over.