HYDERABAD: Fuelled by what he termed the “extraordinary struggle” of University of Hyderabad (UoH) students against land encroachment, BRS working president KT Rama Rao announced on Thursday plans to reclaim the 400-acre land in Kancha Gachibowli and develop it into a sprawling eco-park, inspired by the Central Park in Manhattan, New York, if the pink party is voted to power in the next elections.
The pledge came after the Supreme Court’s interim order on the disputed site, which the Sircilla MLA hailed as a victory for youth-led environmentalism and a direct rebuke to the state’s “biscuit-throwing tactics”.
Speaking to reporters, Rama Rao said the eco-park would be a gift to the students of UoH and the people of Hyderabad. He also accused Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy of treating the land as a commodity and cautioned potential buyers that anyone purchasing it in hopes of profiting from Revanth’s “biscuit-throwing tactics” would suffer severe losses if the BRS came to power. “We will take back every inch of that land and build an extraordinary eco-park, akin to Central Park in Manhattan, for the future of Hyderabad,” he declared.
Rama Rao described the ongoing protests by UoH students as an “extraordinary struggle” against the state government’s alleged attempts to encroach on university land. He blamed the government for refusing to engage in talks with the students and warned that if it did not reverse its stance, the BRS would mobilise thousands of supporters for a march to UoH. He also referred to the chief minister as a “real estate broker”.
‘A victory for students’
Meanwhile, several BRS leaders welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision on the matter. Former minister T Harish Rao termed the verdict a victory for the students. Meanwhile, Rama Rao wrote on X: “Huge thanks to the Supreme Court for intervening in the issue. This is a victory for the youngsters from the UoH, whose inspiring and relentless struggle has resulted in this positive verdict.”