'She Feared...': Kin of Hyderabad Woman Who Died by Suicide Amid HYDRAA Action

"Had the government carefully informed the public, my mother could have been saved," says the victim's daughter.

On 27 September, 56-year-old Buchamma allegedly died by suicide in the Kukatpally area of Hyderabad over fear of becoming a victim of demolition at the hands of the all-powerful HYDRAA.

(Photo: Aroop Mishra/The Quint)

Sitting forlorn on a chair outside his house, Sivaiah instantly bursts into tears as this reporter enquires over a small entrance gate if it was the house of Gurrampalli Buchamma.

Even as he offers a chair, he is inconsolable.

A grieving Sivaiah, Buchamma's husband, at their house in Kukatpally.

(Photo: N Rahul)

Last week, Sivaiah's wife Buchamma allegedly died by suicide in the Kukatpally area of Hyderabad over fear of becoming a victim of demolition at the hands of the all-powerful Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) – like many others in the vicinity.

Buchamma was 56. A mother of three, she had gifted her 300 square yard plot in the full tank level (FTL) of Nallacheruvu lake in Kukatpally to her two younger daughters – Lalita and Sarita – as dowry. The women constructed houses in 150 square yards each. The eldest daughter Krishnaveni was given another plot of 150 square yards elsewhere.

"My mother feared that our houses would be demolished (by HYDRAA). Had the government been careful in informing the public, she could have been saved."

Sarita, Buchamma's youngest daughter

Buchamma's youngest daughter Sarita.

(Photo: N Rahul)

Sarita, 35, who's been living with her father after her mother's death, consoles him, upon which he mumbles a few words on his struggles to run his family with the aid of two buffaloes.

Sivaiah wakes up at 4 am every day, milks the animals, and goes for an odd job as a temporary worker at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) from 8 am to 5 pm.

"Buchamma would help me with the animals and sell the milk in the neighborhood," he tells The Quint.

Belonging to the Yadava community, Sivaiah says that he saved every single penny to raise his three daughters. He had purchased the land for Rs 700 per square yard in his wife's name in 1992. It was later registered in the names of his daughters after their marriage.

"I had no knowledge about the lake when I bought the land," he adds.

'She Was Brave, Hardly Got Any Rest'

Set up by an executive order of the A Revanth Reddy-led Congress government on 19 July, HYDRAA is Telangana's single unified agency to tackle disaster management caused by illegal construction on lakebeds and government lands. In September, the government gave statutory backing and a range of powers to the agency to clean up these 'unauthorised' constructions within the core urban region in Hyderabad and three other adjoining districts up to Outer Ring Road.

Quoting Buchamma's family members, the Telangana Police told the media that she died by suicide on Friday, 27 September out of fear that the houses of her daughters may go the same way as the sheds that were pulled down by HYDRAA across the bumpy path in the lakebed that separated them.

In a statement post Buchamma's death, HYDRAA Commissioner PV Ranganath denied the agency's role in her death, adding that the media should "stop creating fear about HYDRAA".

Sarita, who's has an MBA in finance from a private college in Telangana, recounts that there was a time her family went without food due to poverty.

"My parents hardly got any rest. My mother did all the domestic work as well as helped with the milk business," she adds.

"Losing the houses would have been heartbreaking for her after realising a dream after so much struggle," she adds.

As Sarita was good in academics, her parents encouraged her to pursue higher education. Her husband runs a dairy farm with 10 buffaloes in Moosapet area of Hyderabad. The couple has two school going daughters.

"Imagine my father's plight after we return to our houses at the end of the 10-day-long rituals. Who will give him food?" she asks.

The mood in Buchamma's house is one of gloom where the three daughters are yet to recover from the shock of losing their mother.

"She was a brave woman. She was not the kinds to end her life," Buchamma's eldest daughter Krishnaveni tells The Quint.

Lalita, 38, is married to an autorickshaw driver, while Krishnaveni, 40, has a handicapped husband with no regular income. All the three daughters were emotionally dependent on their parents having lived a hard life.

Slowing Down of Demolitions

Amid allegations of the poor and middle class being needlessly exposed to the dangers of HYDRAA in the absence of transparency, a court case, which came up three days after Buchamma's death, has reportedly slowed down the demolitions.

A single judge bench of the Telangana High Court comprising Justice K Laxman on Monday, 30 September rained pointed questions on HYDRAA Commissioner Ranganath and Ameenpur tahsildar Radha over the controversial 17-hour-long demolitions on 2 September. The judge heard arguments on a batch of petitions challenging the tahsildar's orders to demolish 25 villas on a government land at Patelguda and three multi-storied buildings at Kishtareddypet in Ameenpur municipality as well as 16 big sized sheds at Nalla Cheruvu Lake in Kukatpally.

Read The Quint's ground report on the 17-hour-long demolition here.

One of the recent demolitions being carried out by HYDRAA.

(Photo: PTI)

"Please follow the procedure," the judge said, warning Ameenpur tahsildar not to land in trouble by "attempting to please their respective political and executive bosses".

The judge also sought an explanation from the officials why the demolitions were carried out when an earlier verdict by a full bench of the High Court had observed that they could not be done on weekends and after sunset. The HYDRAA had launched the operation at 7.30 am on Sunday after giving the petitioners in the case a 48-hour notice of eviction.

Appearing virtually, the commissioner replied to the judge that he had merely acted on the basis of the tahsildar's request to deploy staff and machinery to raze the structures after the expiry of the deadline.

At this, the judge questioned the commissioner if he would act similarly "if the Charminar tahsildar requested him to demolish the monument" or if the High Court was found to be constructed against norms.

Justice Laxman further warned the officials that they may lose their jobs if they blindly obeyed the instructions of their political bosses or departmental higher ups with utter disregard for rules.

In the past few months, though the objective of HYDRAA was laudable, it has been found wanting in disaster management for which it was set up. It is merely focussed on demolitions as a solution.

The demolition of houses on the banks of river Musi at Chaderghat in Hyderabad that commenced on Tuesday, 1 October. 

(Photo: N Rahul)

The commissioner said in the court that "70 percent of 2,500 lakes in Hyderabad were encroached – and HYDRAA aims to salvage what was left".

The judge reminded him that the court was not against demolition of illegal constructions in lakebeds, but it should be done only after notifying the FTL.

Later, commissioner Ranganath and M Dana Kishore, Principal Secretary of Municipal Administration and Urban Development, said at a press conference that HYDRAA was being "depicted as a demon by vested interests".

Ranganath said the agency will not touch houses with inhabitants even if they were illegal constructions. Only newly constructed houses where people did not reside were targeted if they were unauthorised. The same was the stand of the government, he said.

He added that builders who took up constructions in FTL and buffer zones of lakes will be booked. He also reminded that the Supreme Court had said there was no need of prior notices to owners if constructions were detected in water bodies.

Recalling that the government had mandated HYDRAA to be pro-poor, Ranganath said the agency did not go against dwellings of the poor on the bund of the lake where the 'N' Convention Centre of Tollywood actor Nagarjuna was demolished in August.

About 5,000 complaints were said to have piled up with HYDRAA seeking action against illegal constructions, according to Ranganath.

The recent slowing down in operations was on account of enquiries to verify complaints, he added.

He said every complaint was scrutinised thoroughly.

(N Rahul has been a journalist for the last 35 years. He was previously Chief of Bureau, Hyderabad for The Hindu newspaper.)