GHMC bid to raze Pahelwans building foiled

HYDERABAD: Mild tension prevailed at Chandrayanagutta and Barkas for some time on Tuesday morning when the town planning officials of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) made a vain bid to demolish a residential-cum-commercial building belonging to Mohammed  Pahelwan at Chandrayangutta crossroads in old city.Pahelwan is the key accused in the attack on MIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi recently.The GHMC staff along with huge posse of policemen descended on the place on Tuesday morning and made an attempt to raze the unauthorised construction but were prevented by about few hundred locals.  The local people warned the GHMC staff and the police of serious consequences if they tried to touch the structure stating there is a mosque on the second floor of the building where devout Muslims offer prayers daily. One floor of the residential-cum-commercial building was constructed unauthorisedly and other floors were constructed with deviations.GHMC officials told Express said that the building owner failed to get favourable orders from civil court. The court directed the Corporation to take action as per the rules. Recently, the GHMC has slapped demolition notice against the builder for violating building rules.They said that Pahelwan had taken permission for constructing seven different buildings on about 2,000 sq yards of land, but instead built only one building in violation of rules.Though permission was taken for ground plus two floors, an additional third floor has also been constructed which was illegal.    Tension and high drama prevailed as threatened to take law into hands if they touched the structure stating there is a mosque on the second floor of the building. Sensing that the situation was going out of hands, policemen told GHMC authorities to maintain restraint in view of the coming Ramzan festival.Meanwhile, Pahelwan approached the HC for stay orders. The court has asked the GHMC to issue fresh notice to the owner.