HYDRA gives nightmares to Congress leaders

HYDRA's demolition drives are triggering political challenges for Congress, with some senior party leaders who allegedly own structures close to Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar fearing that the agency might target them.

Hyderabad: HYDRA’s demolition drives are triggering political challenges for Congress, with some senior party leaders who allegedly own structures close to Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar fearing that the agency might target them. Some have reportedly approached the AICC to bail them out of the crisis.

Irked over HYDRA demolishing structures near Osman Sagar, two top leaders, who own farmhouses close to Himayat Sagar have reportedly appealed to the Congress high command to issue ‘specific’ instructions to the State leadership. They were of the view that if buildings near Osman Sagar were demolished, their properties would also come under public glare.

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This is not the first time that HYDRA has been facing opposition from within Congress. Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender recently found fault with the agency after Jubilee Hills police registered a case against him after a complaint was lodged by HYDRA enforcement officer V Papaiah on August 10 for provoking locals to remove the fencing of an open land belonging to the government. Claiming that he was being personally targeted, he said he would send a privilege notice through the Assembly to HYDRA for ‘crossing its limits’.

Meanwhile, amidst the ongoing controversy over structures constructed within the Full Reservoir Level (FRL) or buffer zone of different water bodies, Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy admitted that he had a house close to Himaya Sagar. “To be precise, it is on my son’s name. I am staying there and admit that openly with courage,” Srinivas Reddy said at a press conference here on Friday. “From this platform, I am instructing HYDRA Commissioner AV Ranganath to demolish a brick or the entire house if it is under FTL limits or in the buffer zone,” he said.