HYDERABAD: Thousands of people queued up at the Praja Bhavan (earlier known as Pragathi Bhavan) in response to an invitation by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to attend the ‘Praja Darbar’ and air their grievances.
Right from early morning, citizens from diverse walks of life streamed into the Praja Bhavan. This was a far cry from the previous government, when the Pragathi Bhavan remained out of bounds for citizens, shielded by iron barriers and barbed wire.
On Friday, the chief minister, along with his Cabinet colleagues Dansari Anasuya (Seethakka) and Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy heard grievances and took representations from citizens. Revanth enquired about their problems and directed the authorities to provide succour.
Among the attendees was a sexagenarian Lambada woman, Kethavath Rukki, from Gummadavelli tanda in Rangareddy district. She raised concern about the encroachment of land assigned to her by former PM Indira Gandhi and urged to initiate a survey to identify the land.
Another resident, Alluri Raniedchal of Kistapur Colony, sought road connectivity to her locality. Siddeshwari, the wife of alleged custodial death victim Abdul Khadeer Khan, sought support from the chief minister, claiming that her husband fell victim to custodial violence by Medak police.
Complaints predominantly revolved around issues related to land disputes linked with the Dharani portal, employment and unemployment concerns, requests for housing sanction and student issues, among others. Interestingly, some came not to voice any grievance but to catch a glimpse of the chief minister’s official residence that had been off-limits for almost a decade.
After hearing the issues of the people for more than an hour, the chief minister left for the Secretariat to attend an emergency meeting. However, Seethakka continued to receive applications from everyone.The authorities made elaborate arrangements such as setting up a makeshift roof and essentials like water, medicine and refreshments. As many as 15 desks were set up to register grievances.
A special mechanism has been developed to register the petitions online and issue an unique Grievance Number (ID generated) to each petition. The applicants were also given the printed acknowledgment and digital acknowledgment.
As many as 320 seats were arranged inside the Jyotirao Phule hall and the authorities allowed the visitors in batches.CMO Special Chief Secretary Seshadri, DGP Ravi Gupta, Metro Water Works (Jalamandali) MD Dana Kishore, GHMC Commissioner Ronald Rose, Hyderabad Collector Anudeep Durishetty, and other senior officials like Musharraf Ali Farouqi coordinated the conduct of Praja Darbar.