Hyderabad: South Central Railway (SCR) issued an eviction notice to a century-old church in Secunderabad claiming it stood on Railway land.
The Sacred Heart Church in South Lalaguda, Secunderabad was issued a one-month eviction notice from SCR under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1971, directing it to vacate its premises of 3,534 square meters of land by December 12, alleging unauthorized occupancy.
The community argues that the legality of the church is well-documented and it has not violated any rules. Some among the community reportedly feel that the church is being ‘unfairly targeted’ by the railway authorities.
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The church, built in 1927, provided the Catholic Christian community in the area with a dedicated space for masses. At that time, Lalaguda served as the headquarters of the Nizam’s Guaranteed State Railway, owned by the Hyderabad Nizams.
Built in the shape of a cross, the church has since stood as the nucleus of the religious following among the Catholics in Secunderabad.
Prior to the church’s construction, local Catholics held Masses at the Railway School on Sundays, but this practice was moved to the newly established church after land was allocated by the Nizam’s Railway Company.
After India’s independence in 1947 and the subsequent annexation of Hyderabad princely state, the Nizam’s Railway Company was nationalised and became a part of the Central Railway in 1951. It was later re-zoned to the South-Central Railway zone of the Indian Railways.
