Missing The Target, Into The Settlements: Twin Shooting Ranges Pose Threat To Residents In Hyderabad

Residents at Gandhamguda and Bairagiguda twin villages said that they live in constant fear of getting shot by bullets due to the presence of police training center and army shooting range which poses a threat to human life. On Tuesday, a woman washing clothes was hit by a bullet in her ankle leaving her grievously injured. The residents demand the government to take mitigation measures to prevent such incidents.

Hyderabad (Telangana): On Tuesday, Kadamanchi Padma, 30, was washing clothes at the terrace of her house at village Gandhamguda Vidyanagar in Telangana capital Hyderabad when a stray bullet in her left ankle leaving her grievously injured. The bullet was not shot by an attacker but came from the nearby police shooting range.

The police shooting range is not the only trouble. Thousands of people in Gandhamguda and Bairagiguda twin villages of Gandipet mandal in Hyderabad live in constant fear of being shot by bullets from the police academy and army firing range located in the vicinity. Incidents of bullets entering the residences are reported every now and then causing extreme panic among the locals.

On the 13th of this month, a bullet entered the fifth floor of a building in Shivpuri Colony. Gandhamguda and Bairagiguda villages near the military training center and police academy were merged into Bandlaguda Jagir Municipality. Once barren areas, the twin villages are are now densely populated by residents with high-rise apartments coming up in recent years.

Missing The Target, Into The Settlements:

While police personnel are trained at the Telangana police academy, at the Army firing range, snipers are trained to engage targets over a kilometer away. At times, the bullets fired land into the nearby settlements after missing the target. Although the severity of these is less, there is a constant threat to life in the residential areas.

'We Live In Constant Fear'

Thalari Chandrasekhar, a Corporator from Bandlaguda Jagir said that they live in constant fear of getting hit by the bullets from the twin firing ranges.

''Thousands of families are living in fear as gun bullets enter their homes. The government should take steps to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. Even if there is no major accident so far, we have to live in fear every day. Special arrangements should be made to avoid bullets hitting the residents,'' Chandrashekhar said.