The police are understood to have objected to Sonia travelling such a long distance by road in the two districts which witnessed frequent encounters with the People's War Group (PWG) extremists in the recent past.

Some Congress leaders too reportedly expressed apprehensions over the security risk to Sonia herself and suggested that she travel by helicopter minimising road journey to the extent possible.

According to the current itinerary, the Congress president will travel by road right from her arrival at the Hyderabad airport on Thursday evening till she leaves for Bidar in the adjoining Karnataka state on June 27.

``We can ensure sufficient security if she is going to address one or two public meetings. But it is almost impossible to have fool-proof security cover all along the route shetravels,'' a senior police official said. As per the schedule, she will make a night halt in Hyderabad after she arrives from Delhi. Next morning she will participate in a `Sadbhavana Yatra' in the Old City of Hyderabad, which witnessed communal violence recently.

Sonia will then proceed by road to Warangal district where she will visit a few villages and meet affected families of Cotton farmers. She will halt for the night at Warangal. The following day, Sonia will go to Medak district via Nalgonda. After visiting some villages in Medak district, she is expected to address a press conference at Sangareddy before leaving for Bidar by helicopter on Saturday evening.

As recently as on June 20, an entire dalam of the PWG was wiped out when seven Naxalites were killed in a fierce encounter in Medak district last Saturday. Two more Naxalites were killed in separate incidents in the district on June 22. Besides Medak, both Warangal and Nalgonda districts are also hotbed of Naxalite activity.