Where The Dead Are In Danger

The dead are in danger, and attempts to help them are being met by threats of physical violence.

The graveyard on the banks of river Musi, at Naddi Muslaiguda, is under serious threat of being wiped out, and with the speed of new constructions picking up, it is just a matter of time before it ceases to exist.

The graveyard, on the right side of the road if travelling westwards from Kishanbagh Crossroads to the Inner Ring Road, measures about a 1,000 square yards, and has been used by the people of the area to bury their dead.

The land has attracted the attention of some people with connections to the dominant political party in the area. With the muscle power and the political party's backing, these people have turned land-grabbers.

The land-grabbers have built houses on the periphery and part of the graveyard, effectively blocking access to the local people to the graveyard.

The passage to the graveyard is now almost totally blocked, and a grown man has to scrape through the space between the walls of two houses in order to reach the graves.

The locals, who had been burying their loved ones on the site, are now being threatened with physical violence if they raise their voice against the blocking of the passage.

One of the residents of the area, Mohammed Saleem, expressed his anguish by saying that the newly-constructed houses on the graveyard have no Municipal numbers nor are they officially sanctioned. He adds that despite this, any complaint to the authorities about the land grab fall on deaf ears.

He says that he, along with other concerned residents, approached the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation officials and public representatives.

Saleem claims that instead of any action from the GHMC officials, the pace of construction has only picked up, leading him to believe in a nexus existing between the officials and the land grabbers.

He further adds that the dominant political party's representative have listened to them but only murmured words of sympathy and promised action.

The results of that promise are yet to be seen, but meanwhile, Saleem and the other members of the delegation have received threats of physical harm.

The construction goes on, and this is a troubling sign for the dead and the living who try to help them.

Courtesy: INN News