Children try to rebuild house from rubble after demolitions in Musi area

HYDERABAD: Heart-wrenching scenes of children trying to rebuild their houses from the rubble that was left after demolitions were carried out at Shankar Nagar in the wake of the Musi beautification project were witnessed on Tuesday.

Young children, not even old enough to comprehend the full extent of the loss, were seen collecting bricks and debris to somehow reconstruct some semblance of shelter.

Building a house is no child's play. Yet, when authorities demolish homes, leaving families homeless, the children go to play inside the debris, turning it into some game of survival - an honest attempt at rebuilding a lost world. Using their small hands to collect broken bricks, some of these children personify the meaning of resilience, unaware that their game would be a painful struggle to restore what was lost.

These demolitions that are meant for the beautification of the Musi river by clearing encroachments left many households without a home to return back to. Authorities do not have the means nor alternative housing that would help such affected people. A silent testimony to their courage amidst such trying times were the children, amid their shredded houses, busy piling bricks like what can be seen in Shankar Nagar.

The demolitions, according to the authorities, are part of the flood control and beautification work directed towards improving the urban environment around the Musi river. However, these efforts brought immense hardships for those families who thrived in those homes. At this point, local residents now urge for immediate support along with alternate accommodations for those dislodged in the name of beautification, claiming human needs should be met before seeking beautification.

Yet it is amidst these stark prospects that the resilience of these small children-rebuilding with whatever debris they can scavenge-can serve to jog the need for truly compassionate and humane urban planning. As these young ones continue playing the "game" of building, their story remains a haunting reminder of what happens when vulnerable communities are left to fend for themselves at times of upset.