Hyderabad: Left parties demanded house sites for poor families and urged the Telangana government to stop hut demolitions immediately. They raised the demand during a maha dharna organised at Indira Park on Monday.
CPI state secretary and MLA Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao alleged that governments had failed to improve the lives of the poor despite changing over the years. He said distributing ration cards and pensions alone would not solve their housing problems.
House sites for poor dominate Left protest
Kunamneni condemned recent demolition drives in Velugumatla, Gundla Singaram, Gopalapuram, Mahabubabad, Kolanupaka, Chevella and Abdullapur. He alleged that authorities were demolishing huts while ignoring land encroachments by the land mafia.
The CPI leader demanded that the government release a white paper on the extent of land it had recovered from alleged encroachers. According to Kunamneni, the Left parties would welcome strict action against land grabbers. However, they opposed demolitions that displaced poor families.
CPI leader Nellikanti Satyam alleged that the Congress government had continued the policies of the previous administration. He said the government had failed to fulfil its promise of providing house sites despite repeated demands inside and outside the Assembly.
The Left leaders claimed that nearly 30 lakh poor people in the state did not own houses. They also alleged that around 60 per cent of Hyderabad’s residents lived in rented accommodation.
The protest leaders demanded that the government implement its housing promise without delay. They warned of intensified protests if hut demolitions continued. Leaders from CPI, CPI(M) and other Left organisations participated in the dharna.