Musi Jan Andolan activist under house arrest ahead of Telangana CM’s presentation on river rejuvenation

A vocal activist from the Musi Jan Andolan (MJA) has been detained inside his home at Chaderghat, Hyderabad, on Friday (March 13, 2026), hours ahead of the Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s scheduled unveiling of proposed plans for the Musi Riverfront Development project.

The activist, Syed Bilal, from the slum Shankarnagar on the Musi river bank, was part of the 12 member delegation from the MJA which met the Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and his cabinet colleagues at his residence on Thursday.

“I was very vocal and cornered the Ministers with my uncomfortable questions about the way they demolished the homes at Chaderghat slums after our last meeting with them, and how they are going against Mahatma Gandhi’s ethos and [Congress leader] Rahul Gandhi’s assurances by forcing this project on us. They felt threatened, and sent the police to my home today,” Mr. Bilal shared on phone.

He said the police conveyed their intention to detain him in the police station, but when he expressed his inability to come owing to ‘Roza’, they relented and detained him at home.

“A huge posse of policemen is standing guard outside my home, even as I am speaking to you. Irony is that we were invited to take part in the meeting with the Chief Minister today,” Mr. Bilal said.

MJA not to attend CM’s event

MJA, through a statement, condemned Mr. Bilal’s ‘arbitrary house arrest’, and termed it as ‘undemocratic’, especially after the ‘dialogue’ on Thursday. It further informed that though it had been extended a last minute oral invitation by Mr. Bhatti Vikramarka for the event on Friday, it was taking a principled stand not to participate owing to what it termed ‘severe democratic deficit’.

Members of Musi Jan Andolan with Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka
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BY ARRANGEMENT

The delegation, during the meeting, aired their concerns about displacement, exemption for the project from social impact assessment, and the contamination of the river by industrial effluents.

It demanded the public release of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the entire project in English, Telugu, and Urdu, along with the marked river boundary and buffer zone maps, with a minimum period of sixty days for all stakeholders to submit their suggestions and objections.

Mr. Vikramarka together with IT and Industries Minister Sridhar Babu and others, heard all the concerns expressed and indicated that the primary objective of this Project is only ‘river rejuvenation’. They assured the delegation that the Government is ‘fully committed’ to democratic process and people’s well-being and will not undertake any forcible and non-consensual eviction or displacement, as per the statement from MJA.

Mr.Vikramarka clarified that the grand event on Friday did not constitute the release of the Detailed Project Report, but is merely a ‘Powerpoint presentation’ by the Chief Minister, outlining the objectives and scope of the project. He further stated that the presentation to be delivered by the Chief Minister will be made publicly available through a website for suggestions and objections, the statement from MJA said.