311 Velugumatla land evictees in Telangana to get Indiramma houses

Hyderabad: The Telangana government on Tuesday, March 10, said 311 families evicted from Bhoodan lands in Velugumatla would receive allotment letters for Indiramma houses at the district collectorate in Khammam on Wednesday.

Deputy Chief Minister Bhati Vikramarka and Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy will hand over the letters to the beneficiaries. The district administration also announced that 101 additional families would be allotted Indiramma houses shortly.

The development follows the demolition of 766 temporary huts and sheds on the 35-acre Bhoodan land in Velugumatla by the district administration on February 24, after which officials found 412 families eligible for permanent housing at an alternative location.

While those whose names figured in the allotment list celebrated, many others were in tears, having found themselves left out. It also remained unclear, as of Tuesday, where exactly the 311 identified beneficiaries would be allotted their Indiramma houses in Khammam district.

Khammam District Collector Anudeep Durishetty assured those who were left out that their cases would be taken up after a thorough inquiry and eligible names added to the list.

Kavitha on hunger strike

Meanwhile, Telangana Jagruthi president K Kavitha, who has been on a hunger strike since her protest rally in Khammam was stopped on Monday, March 9, said she would not end her fast until all evictees received allotment letters or a firm assurance from the district administration of resettlement at another location.

Questioning what prompted Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy to demolish the homes of 450 families, a figure the minister himself had conceded, she demanded the state government not only allot land to the oustees but also construct houses for them.

Kavitha urged the evictees to remain patient, while cautioning the district administration that she would not break her fast without a written assurance covering all 766 families whose houses were razed in Velugumatla.