GHMC drive to clear footpaths of squatters

Rajendranagar: GHMC Town Planning Team of Rajendranagar Circle on Wednesday removed over 50 encroachments on footpath from Hyderguda X Circle to Jana Priya Apartments in Attapur.

During the demolition drive, which was supervised by Zonal Commissioner for South B Srinivas Reddy with the assistance of police, commercial hoardings, constructions on footpaths and profile sheets hanging on the roofs were removed to make the footpaths free from all kind of encroachments.

"We have started acting against encroachments on footpaths. We will continue the drive in a phased manner. Today, we have removed over 50 encroachments at Hyderguda to Attapur stretch.

We will go on with a similar drive from Attapur to Langer House Bridge via Erraboda in the next phase," said Balananda Swami of ACP Town Planning, Circle No11 in Rajendranagar.

In recent days, the burgeoning encroachments on footpaths at various locations under Rajendranagar have turned the roads into narrow passages. Traffic congestions and water stagnation is also making the situation more painstaking for the commuters.

To make the footpaths fully useable for the road users, the town planning wing removed almost all types of encroachments from over one-km-long stretch here.

However, a few locals are totally upset with the way GHMC's Town Planning Wing undertook action on Wednesday.

They opined that to turn the attention from enormous level of encroachments on water bodies and heavy construction in illegal layouts, the civic body has taken up the task to removing hoardings and profile sheets hanging on the roofs over footpaths.

"This is simply an eyewash, and if they are really serious against the encroachments, they must have to take actions against the large-scale unauthorised constructions in unapproved layouts where the heavy structures are being raised one after another on daily basis," said K Ashok, a local who was affected by the demolition drive.