Families who had invested all their savings into buying a home now faced the terrifying prospect of losing everything.

Hyderabad: Victims of the Musi Riverfront Development Project opened their homes to BRS leaders on Sunday, pouring out their hearts and fears, and recounting how they spent sleepless nights, fearing losing all their savings. Families who had invested all their savings into buying a home now faced the terrifying prospect of losing everything.

Saritha, a nine-month pregnant woman from Hydershakote, has barely slept for weeks. While her husband is serving in the army, she wakes up in panic to the sound of a passing truck, fearing it is a bulldozer. “We sold all the properties in our homeland, emptied our savings and took out a loan to buy this house. Our EMIs extend to 2048, and now our future seems empty. We don’t need embellishment; we live close to nature. All we want is to secure our home,” she said, holding back tears. laughed

Dhanalaxmi, a central government employee, shared the same despair. “Out of the 383 houses in our colony, 148 are marked as being within the Musi River buffer zone. We took out loans, we invested every penny we had. Today we live in fear, every day,” she said.

Colony Residents Welfare Association president Sri Venkateshwara echoed these sentiments, highlighting the injustice. “We paid registration fees, property taxes and all other charges to the government who shamelessly collected them and now declaring our properties illegal. If our houses are demolished, who will pay our EMIs? Why would we build houses just to live in two-bedroom apartments? he said.

Chandu, a retired army officer, is devastated. “I worked for 20 years in the army, invested my savings and took a loan of Rs 30 lakh to buy this house. Our houses have been marked as a “buffer zone”. We have not gone to work for the last seven days because we cannot understand when they will demolish our house,” he said, stressing that despite 20 years of defending the country, his house was not safe.

For many, like Hasan from Vishalnagar, it is not just about losing possessions, it is also about shattering lifelong dreams. “This government lasts five years, but having a home is everyone’s lifelong dream. How can you break that with just one decision? By taking away our homes, you are wiping out the savings of an entire generation,” he said.