A Threat to Thousands of Homes: KTR Paints a Grim Picture of Congress's Musi River Project

Hyderabad:BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao on Saturday said that the Musi river could be cleaned and developed without demolishing a single house, and that the previous BRS government demonstrated the same by developing nearly six kilometres of the Musi river stretch in Uppal and Nagole.

Addressing a ‘Musi Rejuvenation – PowerPoint Presentation vs Public Point’ event near Himayatsagar, Rama Rao said some of the buildings as depicted in the government presentation on Friday, at the junction of the Musa and Esa rivers near Bapu Ghat, were to come up exactly where the Madhu Park apartments were located. “If these apartments are in the buffer zone of the river, why is the government showing images of plans with new buildings at the same location,” Rama Rao asked.

“The government made its presentation in a five star hotel among the influential people. We are showing the truth to the people whose lives are being targeted by the Congress government in the guise of Musi development,” Rama Rao said.

Accusing the Congress of going ahead with the project without a Detailed project report, social impact, or environmental impact studies, Rama Rao said the Congress which was in power for several decades must first apologise to the people for its historical neglect of the river and turning it into a polluted drain.

He said the BRS was all for cleaning of Musi and its rejuvenation, and that the previous BRS government had prepared a comprehensive plan at an estimated cost of Rs 16,000 crore, which included an expressway along the river and several infrastructure improvements. “However, Revanth Reddy’s Congress government says the project will cost Rs 1.5 lakh crore, and will involve demolishing thousands of homes. This is all to grab real estate and facilitate large-scale corruption,” Rama Rao said.