The demolitions by HYDRAA and the survey of houses on the banks of Musi river to be razed for Musi Riverfront Development Project have led to massive apprehensions among the slum dwellers and a section of the poor people residing in these areas in Hyderabad.
The death of a woman by suicide was linked to the demolitions by HYDRAA and BRS leaders even labelled it as a ‘murder committed by the state’ though the state government flatly denied the allegation.
Though the locals and the Opposition cried foul over the demolitions near the lakes and river Musi activists pointed out that the step was necessary to protect the waterbodies and the city.
The death of a woman, G Buchamma by suicide had created an uproar as her relatives blamed the recent demolitions by HYDRAA for driving her to take her own life. Buchamma’s own house was not marked for demolition but she had given houses to her three daughters which were in the buffer zone.
Former BRS ministers T Harish Rao and Sabitha Indra Reddy tried to visit Gandhi Hospital where her body was kept but police stopped them. “Buchamma did not die by suicide. It was murder committed by the Revanth Reddy’s government. I want to ask how many more will have to die to stop these atrocities,” asked Harish Rao.
“HYDRAA is not a ghost or an evil but a responsibility to protect the city,” argued its commissioner A V Ranganath while denying the allegation that Buchamma died due to apprehension about its demolition drive. He added that “they are not HYDRAA victims but the city will become the victim if we don’t act.”
The two BRS leaders later met those affected by the Musi Riverfront Development Project and heard their woes while promising to support them by providing legal aid.
Locals expressed resentment against the Congress government for the harassment they faced due to the project despite having necessary documents to prove the structures were not illegal or unauthorised.
The AIMIM leaders, corporators and MLAs were also found on the ground as the families residing for two three decades prepared to shift to two BHK houses provided by the state government after their properties were marked for demolitions by the survey teams.
The state government tried to argue that shifting out these families was a necessity to save the city from urban flooding.
“Nobody will be forcibly evicted,” said Dana Kishore, managing director of Musi River Front Development Corporation which will develop about 55 km stretch of river Musi in the first phase. Dana Kishore also pointed out it was not just a redevelopment project but aimed to rejuvenate the River Musi on the banks of which Hyderabad was founded. The Musi has now been reduced to a dirty stench bearing sewage drain.