Hyderabad: The Hanuman Shobha Yatra on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti, passed off peacefully, barring hiccups caused by traffic pile-ups in places. Roads around RTC Cross Roads in the city were clogged on account of the procession. Traffic diversions were the order of the day in many areas of the city. Vehicular traffic came to a near halt on some roads near RTC Cross Roads. The City Commissioner of Police Anjani Kumar said that about 10,000 to 11,000 policemen were deployed on bandobast duty and the procession was being monitored closely through an extensive cctv camera network. Senior police officers are monitoring the procession, he added.

Hanuman Shobha Yatra which began this morning at Gowliguda is scheduled to conclude at the famous Tarbund temple amidst tight security. The processionists sang bhajans to the beat of drums. Slogans of Jai Shri Ram rent the air.

Brief Stand-off

The Hanuman Shobha Yatra witnessed a few tense moments following a brief stand-off between the Bajrang Dal activists and police here today. The immediate trigger for the heated arguments was the city police's stand that the processionists were not authorized to use the sound system.

Police objected to processionists using the sound system to play songs at Gowliguda saying that they had not accorded permission to the sound system. This angered the Bajrang Dal activists who argued with the police. Finally, cops defused the situation and the procession moved on peacefully.