Over 200 houses demolished at Aswaraopet in Kothagudem

Police and revenue officials demolished over 200 sheds at Aswaraopet, stating they were illegally built on disputed land. CPI leaders alleged that houses of the poor were removed without notice and demanded that the government provide Indiramma houses to the affected families.

Kothagudem: Police and revenue officials razed to the ground over 200 sheds with the help of bulldozers at Aswaraopet mandal headquarters on Monday.

The houses were allegedly built illegally on about two and a half acres of land near Camiloids guest house. A large number of police officials and personnel were deployed to avoid any untoward incident during the demolition in the morning hours.

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CPI district secretary Sabir Pasha, who visited the spot later in the day, alleged that the government machinery, which came with 400 police personnel, demolished about 210 houses of the poor without giving any prior information. He demanded that the government provide Indiramma houses for the poor whose houses were destroyed in Siddhi Venkateswara Nagar and Rajab Ali Nagar in survey number 1228 of Aswaraopet.

It might be noted that in July 2023, the local CPI leader Saleem encouraged the homeless poor to build huts on a five-acre vacant land in front of the palm oil factory in Aswaraopet. The land was in a court dispute in which two groups were involved.

The party leaders allocated about 96 yards to each family even as the police and revenue officials objected to the occupation of the land as it was in a court dispute. Some families who could not get land at the site occupied the land opposite Camiloids guest house.

Those who occupied the lands left the land after the revenue officials reached the spot and warned that they would register cases if they did not vacate the land, but built houses later. The police have registered cases against Saleem and four others in connection with the incident at that time.