Hyderabad: No one saw this coming. By late yesterday, the gates of the Turrur municipal office in Telangana’s Mahabubabad district were under lock and chain – not by officials, but by the man they owed money to.
Private contractor J Shankar said he’d finally had enough. For four years, he’d been setting up lights, décor, and other gear for local festivals – Bathukamma, Dussehra, the lot. All under the municipality’s banner. Total bill? ₹16.8 lakh. Not a paisa paid yet, he claimed.
He said he’d been chasing Municipal Commissioner Shanti Kumar for months. Written complaints, phone calls, personal visits – ignored, all of it. “They’re pretending like I don’t exist,” he was quoted saying. “I’m deep in debt now. What choice did I have?”
So, he brought a lock.
The commissioner, on his part, had a different story. Said he hadn’t even heard of the issue until the incident. Claimed there were no official tenders linked to Shankar’s work. And as for the lock-up? He said they’d be taking it to the police.