Land sharks gobbling up GHMC park

Hyderabad: Residents of Alinagar, in Bandlaguda, find it difficult to use the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) parks which were made available for the public many years ago. The only park provided to the residents is slowly being taken over by land sharks. Though they lodged complaints to the GHMC Commissioner, Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) Minister, Hyderabad MP and the National Human Rights Commission, no action has been taken against the park encroachers.

According to the residents, they have been using the park for nine years. But with development across Bandlaguda, the land and real estate value have doubled. Owing to the high demand for land in the area some people, with the support of public representatives, are encroaching on the park earmarked for residents.

A resident, who wished for anonymity due to fear of leaders involved in encroaching the park, said the locals are helpless as just to place a request for cleaning of a sewage line they have to wait until the area public representative listens to their appeal and take it to forward to the concerned officials. But they cannot speak out though the only park built long back for the public is being encroached.

Such parks are slowly disappearing as encroachers have already demolished their boundary walls and started laying boundaries for plotting. Only the entrance of parks with leftover boundary walls is visible.

With the aim to turn the park into open land the encroacher laid a 'kutcha' road and continuously dumped construction waste inside so that the boundary walls and gates would not be identified.

The residents have urged the State government to immediately save their only park that can be utilised for many purposes, as the GHMC is focusing on other parks. They demanded the GHMC develop the park with facilities, including walkways, cycling tracks and children's games, sports and gym equipment.

Recently, the residents submitted representations and lodged complaints with Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, MA&UD minister KT Rama Rao, GHMC Commissioner D S Lokesh Kumar, the National Human Rights Commission and the area police, yet no action has been initiated by authorities or officials to stop the park encroachment.