HYDERABAD: The city will virtually turn into the nation's capital for three days between January 21 and 23 with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh camping here during the period to attend the AICC plenary.

The Gachibowli sports complex, venue of the plenary, will also be the headquarters of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, along with the Chief Ministers of 15 States where the Congress is in power. Security agencies of various denominations are taking over the venue and the areas around it where the accommodation for the VVIPs is being planned. Even two weeks before the commencement of the plenary, no one is being allowed to venture near the venue without producing an identity card.

Accommodation

The Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee has made elaborate arrangements for accommodating the visiting leaders. Several star and budget hotels (3,896 rooms), residential colleges closed for the vacation, swank apartments and guesthouses (10,188 beds) have been already hired and handed over to the security agencies. Dr. Manmohan Singh, Ms. Gandhi, her family members-- Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Wadhra-- and Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy will stay in a cluster of VVIP duplex bungalows near the venue.

Some 15,000 Congress delegates, including 29 members of the Union Cabinet and 200 former Chief Ministers and Ministers of those States, all of whom require prime accommodation and a reasonable security cover, are expected to descend on Hyderabad. To cover the plenary, a 300- strong media contingent from various parts of the country and abroad is also expected.

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