Musi Riverfront Project: Residents fearing demolition throng Telangana Bhavan for BRS support
Several hundreds gathered at Telangana Bhavan on Saturday to voice their concerns over the ongoing demolition drive linked to the Musi riverfront beautification project
Hyderabad: Several hundreds gathered at Telangana Bhavan on Saturday to voice their concerns over the ongoing demolition drive linked to the Musi riverfront beautification project. The crowd, which began assembling as early as 7 am, included families from various affected areas.
Among the protesters was a woman from Gandipet, struggling to hold back her tears as she shared her story with BRS leaders.
“We built our house 27 years ago, and we are not within the Full Tank Level (FTL) limits of the lake. Now they say we are part of the buffer zone, which is something unheard of by many families like ours. We are not encroachers, we have all the legal documentation and registration formalities,” she said.
She recounted how the sudden threat of demolition has left her family sleepless for weeks, despite having taken loans and repaid them with hard-earned money. “We feel crushed by this cruel fate. Why must we experience this? We built our house with honesty, and now we are being thrown out on the streets,” she lamented.
Another protester from Hydershah village, a person with a disability, expressed his anguish. “I do not know how long I can continue to work and support my family. We have all the necessary approvals, cleared by the bank’s technical and legal teams. We availed a housing loan from SBI, believing in their thorough process. Now the government accuses us of building in the buffer zone. Why should we pay the price for a system failure?” he questioned.
He pleaded with the government to regularize their homes by imposing penalties rather than depriving them of shelter. “We are not against the government. We touch your feet, save us,” he implored.
Sharing her family’s plight, Anitha, wife of an Army jawan said: “My family members fought in the Kargil war and defended the Parliament House. We were attracted to Hyderabad by its reputation, hoping for a peaceful life. But the threat of demolition has had a catastrophic effect on us. We have all the legal documents, and yet we are being treated as encroachers,” she said.
She emphasized the simplicity and honesty with which army families live, questioning how their legally approved house could now be deemed illegal.
Another victim, Kamal Kishore Naidu, exlaimed, “I have lived in the UK for 10 years. I have seen how things work there and understand how London and its administration function. I came to India in the hope of a better life, to bring more opportunities to India, and to create employment for the jobless. I am the MD of an IT company here. HYDRAA was asking whether we did due diligence to construct the house. Do they think that over 10,000 people sitting here do not do their diligence? I have double masters. If the standards change over the years, should the common man suffer? We are for development and support. Hyderabad has got some image. We will support the development agenda, but not this way. You are destroying our houses and families. A middle-class family is being reduced further to a lower-middle-class status. Is that development? I am questioning Rahul Gandhi also. How do you expect to win in Maharashtra and Haryana now after playing havoc with the lives in Telangana? What kind of law are you following? Where is the transparency? We are going to take the message across the States.”
“I am from a different State. Having married a person here, I landed here and loved the environment and peaceful living in Hyderabad. Ten years back, we bought the house. We have to pay the EMI till 2035. The bank says irrespective of the fate of the house, we need to repay the loans. We have to. I have small children,” shared Sridevi.
A Vishal Nagar resident Mohammad Ayub said, “Right from Vikarabad to the point where Musi joins Krishna, you have a long stretch to develop for tourism and other infrastructure. There is a lot of space to develop and promote. Over 90 percent of the sewage water joining Musi is being treated today. Why are the lives of people in the heart of the city being wrecked in the name of the Musi river project? Gujarat’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel statue of unity is placed away from the din and bustle of the cities.”
Woman from Dream Homes, Hydershah Village said, “We have been living in the city since childhood. We bought a house with a loan of Rs.88 lakh. Now, all of a sudden, you descend on us with the claim that we are encroachers. Being labelled as encroachers, ‘Akramanadarulu,’ is more hurting. It is a stigma haunting us. Every approval given to us is legally accorded by the government.”
“How can you brand us as encroachers? Even if we save our property from demolition, it would not have any buyer in the future. We cannot dispose of it even to meet emergency needs. What is our fate and what is our future?’ she asked.
