Hyderabad: The proposal to name the new district being formed with Vikarabad, Tandur, Pargi and Chevella Assembly constituencies as ‘Anantagiri’, sparked protests from the MIM, the Paigah family and the MBT.
MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday requested Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to retain Vikarabad as the name of the new district. Elsewhere, the Paigah family which has been carrying on a legal battle for its properties in Vikarabad, opposed the proposed move.
Members of the Paigah family said that they will register their protest with the government since the Vikarabad has named after Sir Vicar-ul-Umra, the Paigah noble.
Mr Owaisi, in a letter written to the Chief Minister, said, “With the inclusion of Moinabad and two other mandals, the new Shamshabad district is sought to be renamed as Ranga Reddy district. On the other hand, there is a move to rename Vikarabad as Anantagiri district. If there is no new district named ‘Shamshabad’ or Vikarabad, it would send a wrong message to the Minority community.”
He pointed out to the Chief Minister that vast areas of the present Ranga Reddy district originally belonged to the Paigahs, who served as Prime Ministers of the Nizams of Hyderabad. Shamshabad and Vikarabad and some other places are named after Paigah nobles Shams-ul-Umra, Sir Vicar-ul-Umra etc.
The MP said that for the last 42 years, the locals of Vikarabad have been demanding formation of Vikarabad district. He reminded the CM of his made on three occasions, including the 2014 election campaign, to create a new district named Vikarabad.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Moizuddin Khan alias Moiz Jung, one of the heirs of the Khurshid-Jahi Paigah estate, said the state government at least has to consult the Paigah family before taking any decision with regard to formation of Vikarabad district.
He said Vikarabad was founded and named after the fifth Paigah noble, Nawab Sir Vicar-ul-Umrah. Moiz Jung said the land in which government offices are located at present in Vikarabad also belongs to the Paigahs. He said that the issue of Paigah properties right now pending before the court of wards.
“The government, while taking the lands on lease, had promised that after settling the dispute, the rent proceeds will be given to Paigah family,” Moiz Jung reminded. “It is the basic responsibility of the government to consult the Paigah family before taking the any final decision in this regard,” he added Majlis Bachao Tahreek spokesperson Amjedullah Khan, in a letter to the CM, requested him to retain the name ‘Vikarabad’ for the new district.
