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Telangana Jagruthi president Kalvakuntla Kavitha on Monday, March 9, expressed solidarity with families affected by the demolition of houses in Telangana’s Velugumatla village. The demolition carried out by the Telangana Congress government took place in the Vinoba colony on February 24.
The Velugumatla demolitions have been a talking point in Telangana for over a fortnight. Around 600 houses razed in the Vinoba colony of the village were built on land distributed under the Bhoodan and Gramdan Act. The state government claims that the land has been encroached upon. The Bhoodan and Gramdan Act was passed by the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh state government in 1965 and subsequently adopted by Telangana after bifurcation.
Under the Act, a parcel of land is given as a gift or bhoodan in keeping with the 1951 Bhoodan Movement initiated by freedom fighter Vinoba Bhave. The Act enables the legal transfer of donated land to a Bhoodan Board for redistribution to landless, poor farmers.
After meeting the displaced residents, Kavitha staged a sit-in protest along with them at the BR Ambedkar statue in Khammam town. She was joined by Telangana social activist Visharadhan Maharaj, who demanded justice for the families allegedly affected by the demolitions.
The demonstrations were cut short by the police who detained Kavitha and the protestors under Section 41 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). After being released from detention, Kavitha reached Ambedkar Bhavan at 9 pm. The displaced residents have been provided temporary housing by the state government at Ambedkar Bhavan since the demolition.
Speaking to the media, Kavitha accused the Congress government in Telangana of bulldozing the homes of poor families and said that she had earlier urged the Khammam district Collector to visit the shelter and assess the situation. “There was no response from the district administration,” she added.
Demanding that houses be rebuilt at the original site, Kavitha alleged that the government was attempting to acquire nearly 30 acres of valuable land and relocate the residents elsewhere. She said the hunger strike would continue until the affected families receive justice.