Hyderabad: Congress Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender felt the removal of encroachments should begin from Old City.
Speaking with media in Hyderabad on Thursday, January 23, officials from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) should start removing encroachments from Old City instead of demolitions in Chintal Basthi that were recently held.
“It is unfair on GHMC’s part to demolish small and micro businesses of street vendors in Khairatabad and Chintal Basti in the name of ‘Operation Rope’ (Removal of Obstructive Parking and Encroachments). These demolitions are destroying the livelihood of the poor,” he said.
“It has become difficult for people’s representatives like me to go to my constituency as they keep questioning the actions of the state government,” he told reporters.
Questioning how the GHMC could carry on demolitions without even serving notices to those affected, he warned that if officials were given a free hand, it would become a threat to the very existence of the governments.
Hyderabad’s Chintal Basti cleared of encroachments in 2-day demolition drive
While welcoming chief minister A Revanth Reddy’s goal to rejuvenate the Musi River, he said that if injustice was being meted out towards the poor, it was his duty to stand in support of those people.
Pointing out how the chief minister had earlier supported Kumari Aunty, a street vendor who was harassed by officials, Nagender expressed hope that CM Revanth would issue similar orders concerning the ongoing demolition of footpaths.
He clarified that the sole intent of his remarks was to ensure the state government maintained a positive reputation.
