Hyderabad, Nov 29: Farm loan waiver up to Rs two lakh, free laptops to degree students, regulation of liquor sale, free distribution of cows to one lakh people every year are some of the main promises in the BJP's manifesto for the December 7 Telangana Assembly polls.
The manifesto, released Thursday by state BJP president K Laxman, also promised a legislation to prevent "forcible religious conversions" made by offering money and other inducements.
Steps would be take to send back Rohingyas and those who "illegally entered" from Bangladesh, it said.
It also promised free distribution of quality seeds and free bore or well or a pumpset to every farmer.
Alongside free laptops to degree students, the manifesto said girl students from seventh standard to 10th standard will get free cycles. Girl students of degree and above courses will get 'scooties' (two-wheelers) with 50 per cent subsidy.
It also promised free houses to all eligible poor by 2022. Financial assistance of Rs 5,000 per month would be paid towards rent till the construction of such houses, it said.
In addition to implementation of the NDA government's 'Ayushman Bharat' health scheme, the manifesto promised steps to set up generic medicine centres in every mandal (administrative unit).
The unemployed youth will get unemployment dole of Rs 3,116 per month.
For welfare of women, the manifesto promised provision of Rs one lakh and one 'tola' (about 12 grams) gold to poor women at the time of marriage under 'Sowbhagya Laxmi' scheme.
The manifesto also promised subsidy to senior citizens for visiting Kailash Mansarovar, Kashi and Puri.
Cows would be distributed free of cost every year at the time of festivals and other celebrations, the manifesto said.
The party promised allocation of Rs 100 crore to a 'linguistic board' proposed to be set up for the welfare of speakers of Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, Oriya and Hindi speaking living in the state.
It also assured doing away with the surcharge currently being collected (by state-run Road Transport Corporation) for bus travel during festivals.
Asserting that BJP would not see liquor sales as a source of revenue, the party promised regulation of sale of liquor. Restrictions would be imposed on the timings for its sale.
For law and order, surveillance cameras would be installed at vital places in large numbers across the state.
The backward classes corporation would be allocated Rs 5,000 crore annually, the manifesto said.
For the welfare of minorities, the manifesto promised effective implementation of central schemes, including 'Seekho aur Kamao', 'Naya Manzil', 'Pado Pardesh' and 'Naya Roshni'.
The lands of Waqf board would be protected. Computer training and skill development would also be offered in Madrassas, it promised.
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Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
