Hyderabad, March 10 (IANS). The issue of demolition of houses built on Bhoodan land in Khammam district of Telangana has gained political significance. Former MP K. Kavita has written a letter to Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi demanding his intervention in this matter. He has also started an indefinite hunger strike in support of the affected families.
Former MP K. Kavitha told in the letter that she went to Velugumatla area of Khammam and visited the place where houses were demolished. He wrote that the situation he saw there was not just an administrative action but was like destroying the lives of hundreds of poor families.
According to the letter, in this action, bulldozers were used on about 600 houses, due to which about 2,000 people became homeless in a single night. Kavita says that these affected families include people from the most vulnerable sections of the society, who were living on these lands for many years.
He also claimed that many residents also had cards issued by the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh Bhoodan Board, but yet their claims were ignored and their houses were reduced to rubble. The affected families say that they were not given adequate notice and suddenly their houses were demolished by using bulldozers, destroying their belongings and years of savings.
Of. Kavita told in the letter that today the situation is such that women, elderly and children are forced to live under the open sky and are facing very difficult circumstances. Children who should have been in schools are now struggling for food and shelter. Many families, who had built small houses over years of hard work, are now dependent on the help of others to survive.
He also raised questions on the silence of the Congress leadership. Kavita wrote that the Congress party has been opposing bulldozer politics in other parts of the country and talks about the rights of the poor, but during the Congress government in Telangana, hundreds of poor families have been made homeless.
He said that the people of Telangana had given mandate to Congress with the hope that their rights and dignity would be protected, but now people are seeing poor families becoming homeless without dialogue and justice.
Of. Kavita appealed to Rahul Gandhi to immediately intervene in this matter and said that the affected families should be provided justice by allotting plots and houses at the same place.
She also said that being the founder of Telangana Jagriti, she has started an indefinite hunger strike along with the families of the victims. He says that this protest will continue until the displaced families get back respect and housing.
–IANS
VKU/VC