Hyderabad, Mar 3 (TNT): Organisation for the Protection of Democratic Rights (OPDR) has alleged that Telangana government officials are pressuring families rendered homeless by the demolition of houses in Velugumatla village to vacate temporary relief camps in Khammam district.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, OPDR State Vice-President Dr. S. Jatin Kumar and State Secretary D. Vijayender said disturbing developments came to light when members of OPDR and the Velugumatla Bhoodan Vinoba Colony Fact-Finding Committee visited the demolished colony last Sunday.
They alleged that police resorted to a lathi-charge on displaced residents who tried to prevent the arrest of Ambedkar University students who had come to express solidarity. Women and children were also reportedly injured in the incident.
The OPDR leaders further claimed that activists of the Grameena Pedala Sangham, who were attempting to provide basic necessities such as drinking water and food, were being threatened with arrest. Representatives of voluntary organisations trying to meet the affected families were also allegedly obstructed.
According to the statement, authorities are attempting to disperse the displaced families by offering Indiramma housing in their native villages under the pretext of an economic survey. The leaders alleged that officials were trying to send the families back to their original villages instead of rehabilitating them at the present location.
They further claimed that displaced persons were being summoned to the Collector’s office on the pretext of Aadhaar verification and pressured to make statements that they had paid large sums to housing plot committees. Officials were allegedly promising to build houses for them locally while attempting to create evidence to support their version, they said.
Recalling that similar cases had been filed in the past, OPDR condemned what it described as “inhuman actions” by the authorities.
The leaders said they had submitted details of the situation to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which visited on Monday, and demanded construction of permanent houses for the displaced families.
Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had earlier criticised the demolition, alleging that around 700 houses built on bhoodan land in Velugumatla were razed with police support in the early hours of February 25 without prior notice, rendering nearly 3,000 residents homeless.
Responding to the criticism, Telangana Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy accused Vijayan of seeking political mileage ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in Kerala.
He said the state government remained committed to the welfare of the poor and asserted that protecting government land was essential to safeguard public assets.
He also alleged that a land mafia had sold bhoodan land using fake documents and assured that eligible affected families would be provided housing.
TNT TS
Leave a Reply