Hyderabad: Telangana Jagruti president and former MP Kalvakuntla Kavitha demanded action against an illegal Musi River venture and staged a protest at Narsingi on Tuesday over alleged riverbed encroachment.
Accompanied by local residents and party leaders, she questioned what she termed selective demolition drives by the State government. She asked whether authorities who removed houses of the poor under the Gandhi Sarovar project were ignoring a multi-storey structure coming up on the Musi River.
Kavitha targeted the HYDRAA demolition wing and sought clarity from its Commissioner Ranganath. “If we call him, he says he is in a collectors’ conference. We will stay here until bulldozers arrive to act against this venture,” she said.
Illegal Musi River venture sparks allegations of double standards
She alleged that officials demolished houses in Quthbullapur and razed nearly 600 homes in Velugumattla of Khammam district. However, she claimed authorities spared influential builders linked to the illegal Musi River venture.
During the ‘Janam Baata’ programme, she said residents submitted complaints about constructions on lake and river banks. Yet, according to her, the government failed to act on them.
Referring to the Gandhi Sarovar project, Kavitha said officials pressured residents of Madhu Ridge Apartments despite the buildings being nearly two decades old. She argued that middle-class families who invested life savings now faced uncertainty, while construction allegedly harming the Musi River continued.
Kavitha clarified that her protest opposed government inaction rather than private individuals. Moreover, she alleged that the previous BRS regime granted initial permissions, the Congress government paused the project for six months, and later allowed work to resume.
She further accused the Congress government of permitting the construction after taking bribes. Finally, she asserted that her fight aimed at ensuring equal justice and protecting the Musi River and Telangana’s resources.
