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Hyderabad: Builder bulldozes basti toilets
Builder bulldozes basti toilets
- Slum dwellers raise a stink over demolition of community toilets
- 15 loos of Vaddera Basti in Prakash Nagar of Begumpet were demolished by a builder affecting 1,500 residents whose families have been living for six decades
- Seeking intervention from authorities, the basti dwellers demand restoration of demolished toilets
Hyderabad: Even as the government is making all-out efforts to ensure there is no open defecation through Swacch Bharat campaign, the slum dwellers of Vaddera Basti in Prakash Nagar of Begumpet lost 15 community toilets impacting almost half of the 1,500 residents whose families have been living for six decades.
In their representation to the Town Planning officials of GHMC and Collector, the residents pleaded to the authorities to rescue them from the ongoing construction activity adjacent to the basti taken up by the local construction company.
"The toilets belonging to our basti residents were demolished, an approach road has been blocked by constructing a wall on the same side. A tall unauthorized boundary wall is being constructed which will block the ventilators and windows of the houses of houses," said M Narasimha, a resident of the Basti.
Some 60 years ago, the basti came into existence on the government allocated patta lands. While seeking intervention from the authorities, the Basti leaders demanded restoration of the demolished toilets by reconstructing them. They also asked the officials to clear the approach road to the basti, as it has been used for conveyance and to build a boundary wall as per the GHMC norms to ensure sufficient distance is maintained from houses to allow air ventilation.
The CHATRI (Campaign for Housing and Tenurial Rights) and other human rights groups which took up the matter asked the officials to verify the land status and boundaries of Survey No. 194/1, Prakash Nagar.
"The authorities should verify the boundaries of the slum where land pattas were provided to check if the builder is encroaching on the land and if the ongoing construction is following the town planning and building regulations norms" asked Md Ashfaq, who represents CHATRI and Hyderabad Basti People's Federation.
While the Human Rights Forum's Syed Bilal pointed out that the lives of the slum dwellers have turned miserable ever since the construction activity began. "Whosoever has started this construction has failed to leave the setback area, which is mandatory as per the GHMC norms. Even the retaining wall is likely to collapse in the future as the base of the building was dug up deep some 30-40 feet," he observed.
