Hyderabad: Former minister Sabitha Indra Reddy on Wednesday alleged that police placed her and her son under house arrest to prevent them from attending a public hearing on the Musi Riverfront Development Project.Accusing the Revanth Reddy govt of restricting opposition leaders from raising public issues, she said BRS would continue its fight for farmers and families affected by the proposed project.Speaking to the media, Sabitha Indra Reddy demanded compensation of ₹50,000 per acre for farmers who suffered crop losses due to drought conditions. She said farmers were investing borrowed money in cultivation and faced severe financial hardship when crops failed because of inadequate water and electricity.She also criticised the collection of self-declaration certificates from farmers purchasing seeds, arguing that govt should take responsibility for addressing agricultural losses rather than shifting the burden onto farmers. Former ministers KT Rama Rao, Harish Rao, Niranjan Reddy, and party leaders Dasoju Sravan and others condemned the house arrest.The BRS leader expressed concern that thousands of families living in colonies along the Musi river could face displacement because of the proposed development project. She demanded fair compensation and proper rehabilitation for families at risk of losing their homes. She said govt should disclose the project’s likely benefits, costs and impact on residents and address the concerns of affected families before proceeding. Public consultations, she added, should allow people to express their views without intimidation.Alleging that the house arrest was intended to silence the opposition, Sabitha called on the CM to focus on farmers’ welfare, irrigation, electricity supply and the concerns of Musi project-affected families. She asserted that BRS would continue to raise public issues and fight for compensation to drought-hit farmers and justice for families affected by the Musi project.Questioning the Congress govt’s priorities, Sabitha asked why it was planning to spend ₹1.40 lakh crore on the Musi project when farmers across Telangana were struggling with drought-like conditions, inadequate power supply and irrigation problems.She alleged that crops were drying up in several areas and farmers were not receiving adequate support from govt. Instead of proceeding with the project at such a huge cost, she urged the govt to divert a portion of the proposed expenditure towards farmers’ welfare, including compensation for crop losses and arrangements for uninterrupted power and irrigation supply.
