HYDRAA demolishes dreams as entrepreneurs face ruins of businesses in Hyderabad

Around two dozen companies running close to the Appa Cheruvu were demolished by HYDRAA officials

Hyderabad: Making huge investments in plastic granules-making, 50 year-old Mohd Saber struggled hard to set up a company in Katedan after purchasing a land parcel.

However, his aspirations lay shattered in rubble, as officials from HYDRAA, along with HMDA, irrigation department, revenue and Cyberabad police, descended at the site with heavy earthmovers and pulled down the sheds that he had painstakingly set up.

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“I had purchased the land and set up the company. Since 2004 we regularly paid power bills and taxes too. Without issuing any notice or at least holding a survey, the demolition was done,” laments Saber.

Along with his son aged around 30 years, he was seen visiting the dismantled structure and removing machinery. “We have to start from the scratch. Removing the machinery and again reinstalling it somewhere else involves huge amount of money,” a crestfallen Saber said.

His son said the demolition was a huge penalty imposed on the family. “It would have been better if we were sent to jail and the company continued,” he said.

There were around two dozen companies running close to the Appa Cheruvu. The lake is situated on either side of the railway line connecting Falaknuma to Umdanagar (Shamshabad).The companies considered illegal structures and demolished were located on the southern side of the railway tracks.

Kamal, who till recently owned aluminium plates making unit, is still struggling to decipher the motive of HYDRAA in demolishing their units and depriving them of livelihood. “It is not clear if the demolitions were about so called encroachments in the FTL or political revenge targeting some local public representative,” he said.

Satish, who is into entertainment industry said he had taken a shed on lease in the area which was brought down by the HYDRAA bulldozers. “Material worth Rs. 30 lakh went useless. I wonder what sin I am being punished for,” he told ‘Telangana Today’.

Livelihood of migrant workers under rubble

In the middle of a huge mound of debris near Appa Cheruvu, Mohd Tajuddin, a migrant worker from Bihar, assists a group of welders in cutting down the iron frames.

He worked under the shed that provided him shelter from rain and sun and ensured daily bread for his family. That was till August 31 when the HYDRAA officials arrived to bulldoze it. “The very sight of lathi-wielding cops frightened us. Without saying a word we moved away from the place. The police then cordoned off the area and bulldozed the structures,” he recalled.

Around 250 women earned their wages, between Rs.250 to Rs.350 per day, in the factories located near Appa Cheruvu. After their livelihood was reduced to rubbles, most of the families went back to their native places. “Only men will return to and after finding some work, their families will return,” said another worker Mahipal.

“The government did not bother to arrange even meals for the workers knowing well the magnitude of the loss for a daily wager,” said another worker.

On Thursday, when ‘Telangana Today’ visited the place, workers were found removing the iron frames and other material from the premises. “The owners came here for few days, pulled a chair and sat for a few hours. Since ten days or so, were are trying to retrieve anything that is useful from the debris,” said Kishore, another worker.