No untoward incidents were reported in and around Hyderabad on this year’s Valentines Day. The usual hype, advertisements, by commercial establishments celebrating the occasion too was not observed largely.
Only a few establishments have floated offers on the day. Besides them, the only visible celebrations were in social media platforms where people sent wishes on the day. Youngsters said that the days of couples meeting at parks on such occasions are long gone.
The police posted pickets at major parks but the presence of lovers was hardly noticed. The activists of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajranj Dal, who were known to forcibly perform the marriages of lovers if found in parks on this day in the past, were also conspicuous by their absence. Instead of marriages, the Bajrang Dal had given a call to its workers to make the lovers pay tributes to the victims of Phulwama attack on this day in 2019. The call to observe the anniversary of the incident could not be given in the last two years due to Covid-19 pandemic..
