Hyderabad: In a pre-dawn action, the GHMC officials in the wee hours of Sunday demolished an Ashoorkhana located at Amberpet main road. Since the site demolition was gripped with controversy in 2019 over the demolition of Ek Khana Masjid, the police have made elaborate security arrangements to avoid any trouble during the operation.
In 2019 there were huge protests across Hyderabad after the GHMC officials had demolished a Masjid-Ek-Khana abutting Ashoorkhana for the purpose of road widening and construction of an Amberpet flyover. However, three years ago the issue assumed political colour with both MIM and BJP MLAs in the area demanding the property.
The demolition work started at 3:00 am in the early morning and continued till 9 am. The GHMC had cleared the debris swiftly and the traffic was also cleared. Since the R&B Department wanted to complete the project by 2023 the authorities have swung into action and removed the stumbling block.
As per information shared by GHMC officials, a joint survey was conducted in July 2018 by representatives from Waqf Board and GHMC, and the property was found to be privately owned and they have also paid compensation to the parties.
As per the information two among the three brothers who claimed joint ownership. No flag was raised then. With regard to the third property, acquisition got delayed owing to a small mistake in the name, and now we are facing hurdles wakf board officials said. Waqf Board too did not demand that the mosque and Ashoorkhana be protected.
The flyover will start at Shalem Bible Church in Golnaka and end at Mukarram restaurant in Amberpet. The 1.5-km-long flyover is a part of the Strategic Road Development Plan (SRDP) will have four lanes, with two lanes on both sides, and help in decongesting local traffic.
The project is being jointly done by GHMC and R&B, at a cost of rupees 150.55 crores, which, together with the land acquisition cost, would run into ₹467.55 crores. Of this, ₹227 crores is being borne by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, and the remaining by the State government or GHMC. A total of 281 properties, accounting for 4.63 acres, are slated for acquisition.
| 
