Tammereddy Bharadwaja, the prominent film personality, said, "In my childhood, I saw lakes in Yusufguda and Yellareddy Guda. But now they have disappeared, replaced by buildings. There used to be a lake behind Sarathi Studio in Ameerpet as well. Even that has vanished, with new colonies and buildings taking its place. If demolitions are to be carried out, all these areas should be included."
He continued, "50% of Hyderabad should be demolished to restore all the lakes and government lands. Many properties, including slums, are on encroached government lands or in lake Full Tank Level (FTL) buffer zones. If this is enforced, many votes will be lost."
When asked why Revanth Reddy would undertake such a politically risky move, an insider opined, "Revanth Reddy has achieved his dream of becoming Chief Minister and seems disinclined to continue. He is taking significant risks to secure a place in history as the savior of lakes and the Chief Minister who reclaimed government lands."
This approach seems unconventional and unbelievable, but given the actions so far, this opinion cannot be entirely dismissed.
A senior employee from a related government department said off the record, "As per my observation, the departments are considering all houses and colonies submerged during the 2020 floods to be in FTL or buffer zones of previously existing lakes. If they work on those lines, HYDRA may be directed to demolish these colonies."
So far, HYDRA has taken action on a case-by-case basis. However, it may soon expand its tentacles to address encroachments simultaneously around Hussain Sagar Lake, Musi River, Kukatpally Lake, Osman Sagar (Gandipet Lake), Himayat Sagar, Saroornagar Lake, Shamirpet Lake, Pochampally Lake, Pedda Chervu, Nagole Lake, Durgam Chervu and Peerzadiguda Lake.
Additionally, encroached lands in Madhapur, Mokila, Jambagh, which includes some slum areas on government land prone to flooding, are also set to be cleared. Shivajinagar, close to water bodies and within lake buffer zones, is at risk as well. Chaderghat, near the Musi River with encroachments in flood-affected zones, and Madannapet, with slums on government land or near lake buffer zones, are also under consideration.
"Manikonda is going to be severely impacted as many film and software employees may not even realize if their property is on lake land or encroached land. One day, the map will be released, the villas and apartments will be given notice to evacuate within a stipulated 10-day period for demolition," according to hearsay.
It will be intriguing to see how Revanth Reddy succeeds in his HYDRA mission. Some people who were affected by the demolition of Nagarjuna's N Convention may face similar issues with HYDRA, even if they are unaware today that their property is on lake FTL, buffer zones, or government land.
Records are being considered as far back as 1979 to determine lakes and government lands. So it is very difficult to believe that certain land is on lake or encroached government land, as real estate in Hyderabad only began to grow significantly from the late 1980s and 1990s.
