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300 army men go on the rampage in Hyderabad

About 300 army personnel went on the rampage, demolishing sheds in the Rythu Bazaar located on Cantonment land in Medhipatnam in Hyderabad and injuring four farmers early today, but within 14 hours, the land was restored to the civilian authorities on Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu's intervention.

According to official sources, the army men, armed with rifles, swooped on the bazaar around 0130 hours and drove out about 80 farmers, including 20 women, and demolished the sheds. They also took away a video cassette from a private satellite channel E-TV crew which had been alerted by Ranga Reddy district collector Rani Kumidhini.

The presence of the district collector and other state government officials failed to restrain the army men, who destroyed property worth Rs 1.05 million, including a borewell sunk by the state government.

Meanwhile, Rani Kumidhini said Brigadier Verma and Colonel Sunderesan called on her in the afternoon and apologised for the action of the military personnel. They informed her that the site was being handed over to the civilian authorities.

Kumudhini said the Rythu Bazaar was one of the hundred such bazaars started by the state government and was one of the best patronised, helping about 1000 farmers who sold about 150 tonnes of vegetables daily, accounting for a turnover of Rs 20 million per month.

She said the chief minister and chief secretary had written to the defence minister and defence secretary respectively, offering an alternative site to the ministry in Shamirpet Mandal in exchange for of the Rythu Bazaar site.

The district collector had also addressed a letter to the commander of the Andhra sub-area, Brigadier M V Gangadharan, not to take any action as the proposal to give another piece of land to the defence authorities was under consideration.

According to a state government official, the defence authorities were piqued because the state government had sunk a borewell at the site without informing the military authorities who had granted permission orally on certain conditions, including non-alteration of the nature of the site.

UNI

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