The house was razed on 27 January as it fell on the Kamareddy-Adloor Road, which is currently 30 feet, but needs to be 80 feet wide.
In what is being seen as a sacrifice for the greater good, Kamareddy BJP MLA K Venkata Ramana Reddy voluntarily demolished his “decades-old ancestral house” for the widening of a road.
The house, known as KP Raja Reddy Bangla, was razed on Saturday, 27 January, as it fell on the Kamareddy-Adloor Road. The road, which currently stands at 30 feet, needs to be stretched to a width of 80 feet.
Tagged as a “giant killer”, Venkata Ramana Reddy of the BJP made headlines by defeating two-time chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao of the BRS and current Chief Minister Revanth Reddy of the Congress.
The residence, which was built by his father in 1960, held numerous memories for Reddy and his family. The 53-year-old legislator was born there in 1970.
Speaking to South First, MLA Venkata Ramana Reddy recollected and cherished memories of his erstwhile home.
“I have emotional ties to the house, where my siblings — sisters and brothers — along with cousins, cherished countless memories as we grew up here in the surroundings of the house. The house witnessed my father’s tenure as Samithi president, and I had served as the Zilla Parishad president.”
Officials said the house — worth around ₹4 crore, as per Reddy — did not fall in the compensation category.
Addressing the past allegations by the Opposition parties that the house stood on encroached-upon land, Reddy clarified that the road did not exist when his house was originally built.
“I did face allegations by Opposition parties that claimed the house was on an encroachment, but during those days it was not mentioned that the land was meant for road-widening. I had planned to demolish the house during those days after coming across the word of locals. But due to a busy schedule, I could not execute the plan. I urge people to cooperate with officials for the widening of the Kamareddy-Adloor Road.”
Noting his commitment to being a visionary leader, he added, “I needed to take this strong decisive step as I hold the position of an MLA now. I believe that political leaders must set an example for setbacks to occur.”
For Venkata Ramana Reddy, nicknamed KVR, the pulling down of his house stands as an “indication of change” in the Kamareddy Assembly constituency.
Expressing his determination to combat corruption, he said people should question if they found corruption in any work conducted. “No officer with a corrupt mindset would be tolerated. This is my warning to them,” Reddy said.
He added that the process of road construction is likely to be started by the next month (February).
Kamareddy Municipal Commissioner Devender said that there is no provision for remuneration with compensation for those who demolish their structures.
“The MLA voluntarily demolished the house. So, it does not come under the compensation category,” he told South First, adding that the bulldozing took place in the presence of Municipal, Roads & Buildings and Electricity Department officials after discussions with MLA Venkata Ramana Reddy and inspection of the road between old bus stand and the railway gate.
Meanwhile, the road also houses the home of the Telangana government’s newly-inducted advisor and former MLA Shabbir Ali.
Sacrifice for greater good brings praises to @BJP4India MLA in #Telangana@BJP4Telangana MLA @kvr4kamareddy from Kamareddy voluntarily demolished his ancestral house to make way for road widening.
The house, worth around ₹4 crore, was in the way of widening the… pic.twitter.com/12WyvWLqsB
— South First (@TheSouthfirst) January 29, 2024
Abdul Kareem, a local resident, saw the MLA’s action as a positive step.
“The road widening was a long-pending issue. There is a temple, a mosque, a hotel and a restaurant. Their boundary might also be demolished. Former MLA Shabbir Ali’s house might also be razed,” he told South First.
Jaganttham, an advocate, noted that the residents were taken aback by the MLA’s act.
“People are praising the act. Before the elections, he had promised that he would cooperate in any and every way for the development of Kamareddy,” he told South First.
The advocate, however, said he suspected that the move might also be a way to gain political sympathy ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
K Venugopal, a retired headmaster and former Andhra Pradesh Teacher Federation (APTF) leader, said the move was likely to uplift the image of legislators in the eyes of the people.
“It will go down as a good sign, as people’s representatives used to grab the lands earlier and did not release them for public cause. This will also encourage the municipality officials to further act on encroachment in Kamareddy, with a person as powerful as an MLA leading by example,” he said.
In South First‘s ground report from the Kamareddy Assembly constituency ahead of the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections, the citizens had highlighted that the main road, known as the new bus stand chowrastha (crossroads), was accident-prone as the stretch was not wide enough.
With the widening of the road, the huge vehicular traffic between Indira Chowk at the old bus stand to the new collectorate is expected to improve.
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