Hyderabad: Chaos erupted at New Mallepally, Hyderabad, during an anti-encroachment drive by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) on Monday, February 9, with residents alleging their shops were razed down without prior notice or intimation.
The incident occurred near the Anwar Ul Uloom College in the presence of police personnel. According to officials, the demolition drive was carried out against illegal shops on footpaths.
An angry public charged at the police, displaying electricity bills, stating they have been staying there for years.
One shopkeeper in particular, who is physically handicapped and unable to speak, was seen desperately pleading with the officials to stop the demolition. When he is told to leave the premises, his friend replied, “Where should we go sir? My friend cannot speak or walk properly. Where will he go?
His friend told reporters that the GHMC did not serve any kind of notice about the demolition. “How will the poor survive?”
Another partially blind woman, whose shop was also razed down, told reporters, “I regularly pay my taxes to the administration. But they did not spare my shop. I cannot see; I am partially blind. I have a mentally unstable daughter. Where will I go now?”
This post was last modified on February 9, 2026 5:52 pm