STICKY ISSUE: After successfully breaking the police cordon in Mahendra Hills on Sunday, the landless rush to pitch their homes. — PHOTO: P. V. Sivakumar

HYDERABAD: The land struggle taken up by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in the city on Sunday turned violent with the police resorting to lathicharge when hundreds of activists hurled stones at them for preventing their efforts to put up huts on Government lands.

More than 40 people were arrested for trying to create disturbance. Two police constables and five party activists were injured in the incident. The programme was held at Mahendra Hills, Kapra, Kushaiguda, Uppal, Nagole, Ramanthapur, L.B. Nagar, Langer Houz and Golconda.

Tension escalated at Mahendra Hills when CPI(M) workers started pelting stones at the police for not allowing them to put up huts in vacant lands. Some of them even tried to encroach private land too. Then the police resorted to lathicharge to disperse the crowd. Two constables suffered minor injuries in the clash.

The situation came under control after Hyderabad district Collector R. V. Chandravadan assured that alternate measures would be initiated to provide houses for the poor people. He also listed out various steps taken by the State Government to ensure permanent houses for the slum dwellers.

Mr. Chandravadan said that issue of pattas was banned in the city and the Government was constructing houses under various schemes for the poor. He reminded that 1,792 houses were constructed in Singareni Colony while 3,000 houses were being constructed in Yellamma Banda in Kukatpally for people displaced from Hussainsagar nala.

At Golconda fort, hundreds of party workers erected makeshift huts. The police later swung into action and removed them.

CPI (M) city secretary P.S.N. Murthy in a statement condemned the lathi-charge and the arrest of people. He alleged that despite promises, Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy had not delivered with regard to houses for the poor.

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