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The Musi Jan Andolan (MJA), a people’s movement to safeguard the Musi river and the communities living along its banks, has condemned the house arrest of its activist Syed Bilal hours ahead of an event where Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is set to unveil the detailed project plans for phase one of the Musi river rejuvenation on Friday, March 13.
Speaking to TNM, Bilal said police arrived at his residence on the morning of March 13 and informed him that he was being detained to prevent any disturbance at the Musi rejuvenation project unveiling event. The event is scheduled for 6 pm at Taj Krishna in Banjara Hills.
Just a day earlier, Bilal had met Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka as part of a 12-member delegation that presented its long-standing concerns regarding the Musi Riverfront Development Project.
“Our struggle is over 30 years old. Successive governments have contributed to the decline of the Musi river through industrial pollution and other activities. Now the Congress government is displacing people in the name of rejuvenation,” Bilal said.
He added, “Our delegation should have refused to meet them yesterday at Praja Bhavan. Instead, we should have insisted that they come to the neighbourhoods where people fear displacement and hold discussions there.”
Rights organisation Human Rights Forum (HRF) also condemned Bilal’s detention. It said activists were not opposed to cleaning the Musi river but were concerned about the possible eviction of people who have lived along its banks for generations without proper rehabilitation.
MJA said it would boycott the event where Revanth Reddy is set to reveal the detailed project report (DPR), calling Bilal’s detention undemocratic.
“Although the Deputy CM extended a last-minute oral invitation to MJA to attend the Taj Krishna event, we have taken a principled decision not to participate in what we see as grand posturing marked by a severe democratic deficit,” the organisation said in a statement.
According to MJA, the delegation met the Deputy CM and other ministers — D Sridhar Babu, Vakiti Srihari, and Adluri Laxman — following an oral invitation from Bhatti Vikramarka. The meeting came in the backdrop of a letter from activist Medha Patkar to the Chief Minister.
In the letter sent on March 9, Patkar urged Revanth Reddy to suspend the unveiling of the project, publicly release the DPR, hold detailed consultations with affected communities, and constitute an independent committee to review the proposal.
She said it was regrettable that discussions so far had not adequately included grassroots voices, particularly those directly affected by the Musi project, as well as collectives such as the Musi Jan Andolan and other activist groups.
Patkar also raised concerns about the potential displacement of thousands of poor and middle-class families. She referred to the Gandhi Sarovar project and protests at Madhu Park Ridge as examples of growing public concern over the initiative.
MJA said it echoed Patkar’s demands during its meeting with the Deputy CM, calling for the March 13 event to be postponed and the entire DPR — not just phase one — to be made public. The organisation also demanded the release of river boundary and buffer zone maps so that all stakeholders could submit suggestions and objections.