The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation demolished more than 60 temporary shelters allegedly extending into a stormwater drain at Hakeempet near IAS Colony in Tolichowki on Thursday, triggering protests from residents who said they were not given prior notice and were left without a place to stay.
The operation was carried out in the GHMC’s Golconda Zone with heavy police deployment. Officials said the shelters had encroached 10 to 15 feet into the stormwater drain and that the drive reclaimed public land. The action took place amid resistance from residents, with police reporting mild tension during the operation.
Residents disputed the manner in which the demolition was carried out. Jeetu Rathod, a resident, alleged that officials arrived with police personnel and earthmovers without warning and dismantled the shelters. Residents said some families had lived at the location for more than 50 years and that the structures were removed suddenly.
Rathod also said many of the affected residents were daily-wage workers and questioned where they would go after the demolition. The account points to the immediate housing and livelihood consequences of an anti-encroachment operation in an area where temporary structures had existed for several decades, although the report does not specify whether any relocation or rehabilitation arrangement was offered.
GHMC Golconda Zone Deputy Commissioner D Jagan said engineering officials had proposed road widening in response to demands from local people seeking to ease traffic in the area. He said the shelters were removed as part of the eviction process. The stated operation therefore combined enforcement against structures on the drain with a proposed road-widening intervention.
Stormwater drains are part of Hyderabad’s flood-management infrastructure, and encroachments can restrict the space available for water movement. In this case, GHMC officials identified the affected shelters as extending into the drain, while residents focused on the absence of advance notice and the loss of their homes. The competing accounts underline the administrative challenge of protecting public infrastructure while dealing with long-term occupation and the needs of low-income workers.
Tolichowki inspector L Ramesh Naik said mild tension prevailed during the operation but that the demolition was completed after residents were convinced. The supplied report does not provide details on prior notices, the legal order supporting the eviction, the total area reclaimed or the next steps for the affected families. GHMC’s stated road-widening proposal and the condition of the reclaimed stormwater drain remain the next developments to monitor.
