Telangana Govt Completes 90 Per Cent Secretariat Demolition Works

HYDERABAD: Ninety per cent of the demolition work of the Secretariat buildings was completed and the old secretariat building complex will soon disappear as only 50% of the L block and 30% of the J block remains to be demolished, Telangana government said on Monday, July 27.

The government on Monday, allowed the print and electronic media persons accompanied by senior officials, including police to cover the demolition of the secretariat  for the first time. All of them were taken to the site in three mini buses, a DCM, a trolley and various other vehicles in Hyderabad under heavy police security.

Media persons were taken from the main gate of the secretariat to the demolished building site which is 90 per cent completed. Police officers didn't allow the media to get out of their vehicles. Video journalists took visuals from the vehicles.

In the last 10 minutes, police allowed the media to cover the visuals of the debris and photos of the demolition process.

Almost 90 per cent of the demolition works have already been completed and the total amount of debris (waste) is estimated to be around 4,500 lorries. Of this, 2,000 lorry trips have already cleared the debris from the area and the rest is in progress, a press release issued by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao's office (CMO) read.

Secretariat demolition works started from the midnight of July 6 and was halted for a week as the HC ordered the government to stop the works.

Later, works started as Telangana HC, Supreme Court and even the National Green Tribunal dismissed the PILs, challenging the government's decision of demolishing the old secretariat building and constructing a new secretariat building.

Earlier, the state government had taken a decision not to allow anyone to enter the premises of demolition works, as a preventive measure. The government had barricaded the roads leading to the secretariat and restricted the entry of media and stopped them from covering demolition activity.

The government had deployed 2,000 policemen in the surroundings areas of the secretariat to restrict the public entry and had also diverted the traffic.

VIL media private limited had filed a public interest litigation seeking permission for the media to cover the ongoing demolition of secretariat buildings. Responding to it, the HC ordered the government to allow the media to cover the demolition works. Following which, the government had allowed the media to cover the ongoing demolition works of the secretariat buildings yesterday, July 27.