HYDERABAD: A day after TOI reported that the family of a co-option member of the
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (
GHMC), G
Jyothi Goud, had erected two statues of her 17-year-old son who died seven months ago, the authorities sprung into action and removed the statues.
In clear violation of
Supreme Court orders, the statues of G Akhil Goud came up over the last 10 days alongside the Alwal Main Road and Old Awal Crossroads respectively.
GHMC officials said they have removed the statues. “We wanted to remove them by the end of this month with the help of police. But, we have done that now,” said E
Nagi Reddy, GHMC assistant city planner of Alwal.
In 2013, the SC took objection t o this practice and ordered all state governments and Union Territories to deny permission for erecting statues.
The removal of statues was carried out peacefully, confirmed GHMC officials. “We were able to remove the statues without any hassle. Fortunately no untoward incident happened while removing them,” confirmed a civic official from Alwal circle, who was a part of the team which removed the statues.
Appreciating GHMC’s move, the residents said the removal of statues was necessary for seamless traffic movement. “The statue on Alwal main road was obstructing the free flow of traffic and removing the statues also ensured that the law is above all,” said PM Sai Prasad, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) leader and RTI activist, who resides in Alwal.
Speaking to TOI,
G Srinivas Goud, husband of G Jyothi Goud, had agreed to remove the statues if it was causing traffic problems. “I was not aware that erecting my son’s statue, who was part of Telangana struggle since childhood, will create problem for movement of traffic. I will shift them inside the compound wall of our establishment,” said G Srinivas Goud, who also shared pictures of his son participating in rallies and programmes held for Telangana movement.
