The first day of distribution of double-bedroom housing units in the city was punctuated with discontent and protests by the poor who were not among the fortunate few chosen for allotment.
Protests took place at multiple locations, and even led to detention by police in one instance. The ubiquitous mood of disillusionment prompted Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi to make an appeal to them not to be disheartened by non-allotment in the first phase, and that there were five more rounds of distribution left.
A woman reportedly fell at the feet of Ms.Vijayalakshmi, begging for 2BHK allotment in Sriram Nagar area of Kapra where the former launched the programme and distributed possession certificates to 500 allottees.
At Bahadurpally, where Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav distributed the units, several applicants staged a protest alleging favouritism by the local leaders, which made it difficult for the police to manage the crowds. A similar incident was reported from Patancheru.
At Pratap Singaram village of Medchal district, local women backed by a BJP leader demanded Deputy Speaker T. Padma Rao to exhaust the local poor before allotting to non-locals. This led to a minor scuffle, and detention of the leader, Yenugu Sudarshan Reddy, by the police.
Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav distributed the certificates to 1,700 allottees belonging to Sanathnagar, Quthbullahpur, Kukatpally and Secunderabad Cantonment constituencies.
Mr.Srinivas Yadav also assured that every genuine applicant will be given a housing unit. During the first phase, a total 11,700 units were distributed to beneficiaries across various localities.
