Three months since several homes razed along Hyderabad’s Musi, but river still raises a stink

With little effort on ground to improve the condition of the Musi and debris of demolished houses still strewn around, residents ask what was the hurry to displace them

Hyderabad: It’s been almost three months since the Revenue Department and Musi Riverfront Development Corporation Limited (MRDCL) rolled in with demolition squads and pulled down houses along the Musi river at Chaderghat.

However, there has been little effort on the ground to improve the condition of the Musi, with the debris of the demolished houses still strewn around.

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Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy had announced plans to develop the Musi on the lines of London’s Thames riverfront.

The officials termed around 10,000 structures located in the Musi riverbed and the buffer zone as encroachments and demarcated the houses for demolition.

The district revenue authorities employed several teams and demolished around 200 houses at Chaderghat, Moosa Nagar, Rasoolpura, Vinayak Nagar and Shankar Nagar in October first week.

The families staying in the houses were forced to move into double-bedroom flats at Chanchalguda and some others at far off locations.

In a swift move, the revenue authorities, to dissuade the people from returning, partly demolished the houses.

“Asbestos roofs were removed to prevent the families from returning and staying in their houses. The remaining structure was left untouched by the revenue teams, who planned to ground it later,” said Mohd Sarwar, a local resident.

Three months have passed and yet there is no sign of any activity or the officials.

“Now, the partly demolished houses have become a safe haven for anti-social elements, which are gathering late at night and indulging in criminal activities,” Mohd Rizwan, a local resident, said.

The local people recall seeing a convoy of cars zooming into their slums and officials running around marking the houses, shifting the families and overseeing the demolitions.

“After the hustle bustle, the officials have disappeared. No one understands what the hurry was all about,” says Santosh P, a resident of Vinayak Nagar.