Hyderabad: Rampant illegal blasting of stones by developers is giving sleepless nights to residents of Gach-ibowli. The blasting is also damaging houses and putting the lives of the residents in danger.

In this area close to the IT hub, where construction activities are on in full swing, blasting of stones to accommodate new housing ventures has been a regular affair but at the cost of safety of locals.

A construction company has taken up works near the gas godown at new PJR Nagar. The construction company has been excavating the area for cellar spaces of the building on several acres. For this they have been blasting for the last four months. This has led to cracks forming in three nearby buildings.

Locals have complained to the local police but no action has been taken so far. “We have to live in fear as my house roof is of asbestos sheets and flying stones have damaged it. On Saturday, stones damaged the roof sheet and fell in the bedroom. Thankfully I was in bathroom. We have complained to the Raidurg police but the blasting continues.” said S. Anand.


Thakur Rajkumar Singh, chairperson, Human Rights & Consumer Protection Cell said, “Blasting has been banned completely in and around Hyderabad as it is a thickly populated area. Construction companies need to employ modern methods including drilling and hydraulic machineries.

But many construction companies do not comply with the rules as it is a costly and time consuming affair, while employing bombs to remove stones is far cheaper and can be completed in fewer days.”

Kasireddy Bhaskar Reddy, the activist who spearheaded the protest against the blasting mafia in Chandanagar, says, “Blasting activity is permitted only in the remote areas. Even for such blasting the executing agency needs to obtain permission from the Mines department.

The police can book criminal cases against the violators. Such works are taken up on contract by the stone crusher agencies, which are operating in the form of mafia groups and are also known to resort to attacks on protesters.

Such activities have stopped in the Chandanagar area after a lot of struggle and protest. But now they have moved elsewhere.” The affect of blasting stones and using huge gelatin bombs has an impact on at least 1 km radius.