Will Shri KCR keep his promise on Sultan Bazaar or not?

Will KCR keep his promise or dump them? If Sultan Bazaar is lost, a part of the history and soul of Hyderabad will be lost. It depends on KCR now. The bustling Sultan Bazaar and a section of Kothi observed bandh yesterday against the metro corridor-2 which will pass thru the bazar and raze many shops. In early 2011 Sultan Bazar, Badi Chawdi and Putlibouli markets observed bandhs and undertook protest actions several times. It was such a fierce resistance that, till today, the metro authorities dared not enter the area to conduct even soil tests.

On 17 June 2011, KCR addressed a public meeting in Sultan Bazar and warned of bloodshed if the market is touched. After becoming the CM of Telangana, he promised on the floor of the Assembly (I don't remember the date) that the metro would be diverted and will not touch Sultan Bazaar.

Several months have passed and now the L&T metro authorities have started visiting the area and making markings for pillars. The traders sensed the danger and observed a bandh yesterday reiterating their earlier demand. They also reminded Shri KCR to keep his word. However, one sad difference this time is that the Badi Chawdi did not participate in the bandh as differences cropped up between the traders of the two bazaars.

AAP demands scrapping of Metro Corridor-2

AAP is the only party in Telangana (or AP) that has taken a clear position on the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR). AAP's Telangana manifesto has promised to scrap the corridor-2 and termed it the least useful corridor. The relevant portion of the manifesto is reproduced below:

AAP considers this as land and real estate project. AAP demands transparency and compliance with the Concession Agreement.

- All important documents of the HMR will be made available in the website of the HMR.

- Full compliance with the RTI Act.

- The land allocations to real estate of the L&T beyond the Concession Agreement will be reviewed and the concerned officers/departments will be held accountable.

- Modifying the Concession Agreement through Government Orders will not be allowed.

Corridor II (JBS to Falaknuma) should be scrapped.This is the least useful corridor and also it will wipe out the heritage area of Sultan Bazaar apart from demolishing thousands of properties.AAP government will scrap this corridor.

The bus transport and MMTS network will be strengthened The MMTS phase II will be completed on a priority basis to strengthen the public transport in the city and improve connectivity to the suburban areas.

Traders on Corridor 2 protest against Metro route

Thoughtless and scandalous actions of the Hyderabad metro authorities are giving rise to new conflicts and tensions. Corridor 2 (from Jubilee bus station to Falaknuma) is the most useless route and is most destructive in the sense that many shops and buildings will be demolished on this route. The famous Sultan Bazaar is located on this route. In the present instance of the news item below, the route of Corridor 2 has been diverted towards the Old Gandhi Hospital which leads to demolition of many buildings including taking over of land of a church. The authorities are also eying on taking over about 10 acres of the hospital land for the L&T's real estate business. There is no any technical report or expert opinion for the diversion of this route.