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Outrage over demolition of Bhimraobada

- PHOTO: NAGARA GOPAL

HOMELESS: Bhimraobada resident is distraught after her house was demolished on Saturday.

HYDERABAD: In a pre-dawn swoop, the district authorities razed the Bhimraobada slum next to Gandhi Bhavan, paving way for construction of Indira Bhavan, the city office of the Congress party. The swift action caught the residents, who were fast asleep, unawares. As the bleary-eyed slum dwellers tried to comprehend what was happening, three JCB machines set about flattening their homes.

And for the next few hours it was utter chaos. The residents did not even have time to take out their belongings with all the protests and pleas falling on deaf ears. As the city folks elsewhere began yet another day, the Bhimraobada residents found themselves on the roads - literally.

Though it was yet another demolition drive for the district administration, it quickly snowballed into a major issue with political parties of all hues joining the issue. Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu rushed to the spot with party workers in tow and spent nearly two hours inspecting the demolished houses and talking with the inmates. Later, he was arrested and shifted to Saifabad police station where he staged a sit-in demonstration along with CPI, CPM leaders.

Vishnuvardhan Reddy, the lone Congress MLA to protest, was arrested and taken to Nampally police station followed by Pawan Kalyan of Praja Rajyam.

The issue also found an echo in Kakinada where PR leader, Naga Babu, staged a demonstration. Other leaders taken into custody included P. Madhu, S. Sudhakar Reddy (MPs), N. Narsimha Reddy, T. Harish Rao (TRS), K. Vijayarama Rao, Alladi Rajkumar (TDP), Bandaru Dattatreya (BJP) and B.V. Raghavulu (CPM).

Bhimraobada echoed with ‘YSR down down” slogans as leader after leader castigated the government for its ‘anti-poor’ policies. Traffic remained disrupted for most of the day as the action shifted from Gandhi Bhavan to Saifbad police station.

The 83 asbestos-roofed houses spread over 1,153 sq yds were pulled down in no time. The slum dwellers, it is said, obtained stay from court when told to vacate the place in June. Last Tuesday, when the stay expired, the court refused to extend it further. Taking advantage of this, the authorities decided to evict the basti people on Saturday.

Revenue, police and GHMC personnel coordinated the operation which began at 5 a.m. The district authorities deployed 80 trucks and 400 persons to shift the household articles to Afzalsagar where the Bhimraobada residents were allotted houses in the Vambay weaker section housing colony.

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