Demolitions begin on Musi riverbed

Hyderabad: Amid heavy police security, the authorities have officially initiated the demolition of residential structures situated within the Musi River catchment areas as a part of the Musi River Beautification programme. As many as 140 houses in the stretch from Chaderghat to Malakpet are being demolished.

For the first time, as part of the Musi River clean-up project, authorities took up a demolition drive in the catchment areas, and the homes in the first phase of relocations from the river's surrounding areas were demolished on Tuesday. Earlier, the Revenue officials sealed marked homes in the Chaderghat-Malakpet stretch where houses were marked ‘RB-X’ for demolition, and the residents have been relocated to the 2BHK housing society.

In the first phase, the Revenue Department and Musi Riverfront Development Corporation Limited (MRDCL) officials started demolishing the houses in Rasoolpura, Musa Nagar, Vinayak Nagar, and Shankar Nagar of Chaderghat and Malakpet areas under the Malakpet constituency. As the bases are small, they are being demolished by labourers and not by JCBs. The demolition drive started in the morning, and nearly 20 marked houses in Rasoolpura were demolished. The drive later continued to Musa Nagar till Shankar Nagar, with over 140 ‘RB-X'-marked houses being demolished, says an officer present at Rasoolpura.

“Few families who had yet to receive the allotment of 2BHK flats, their houses were also demolished, and the families residing in the marked houses were forced to leave with no time, and the officials started the demolition process,” said Syed Bilal. He added, “Homes that represented years of hard work and cherished dreams were destroyed in an instant.”

It has been observed that the dwellers themselves demolished the houses in frustration. The youngsters engaged themselves in the demolitions that were carried out. They were seen collecting the gates, windows, and other usable items, so that they could be used or could be sold as scrap.

Moreover, the protest continued by the affected families as they were complaining that the 2BHK houses that were allotted to them were not completely ready. A total of 163 families opted to take 2BHK and were relocated in the housing society.

The families demanded the government halt the demolitions and provide alternative housing solutions. Many also gathered at the demolition sites and chanted slogans to make their grievances known, they expressed their anger and frustration over the government’s actions, and were later dispersed by the police.

A woman lamented that though the officials had given them a 2BHK, there are no facilities for water and wash rooms in the premises. Additionally, there were no lift facilities as they have been allotted the flats in the upper floors of the complex, where they are facing difficulties, especially the elderly. “Even though our houses are being demolished, we will reconstruct them here only. How can you expect people to stay at a flat where there are no facilities?” she was heard shouting.

Moreover, the officials from the electricity department were also collecting the house electric meters. The demolition of houses took place at Narsingi, Jiyaguda, and other places on the Musi River catchment areas.