Hyderabad: Farmers and landowners whose properties are set to be acquired for the Regional Ring Road (RRR) staged a protest in front of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) office at Swarna Jayanthi Complex, Ameerpet, on Monday, demanding a change in the proposed alignment.

The protestors included farmers, landowners and developers who have layouts in the affected areas. They objected to the 28-km stretch of the RRR from the Outer Ring Road (ORR) to NH-65, insisting that the earlier alignment be followed. They also demanded that compensation be fixed at double the market value.

“In addition to changing the alignment, the compensation amount should be doubled,” one protestor said. Police intervened and dispersed the gathering.

An HMDA official clarified, “In August, the HMDA issued a primary notification for the proposed 100-metre-wide RRR within the Hyderabad Metropolitan Region. Objections and suggestions can be submitted in writing to the HMDA commissioner by September 15. After this, the final notification will be issued.”

The RRR, spanning 362.51 km, will cut across seven districts, 33 mandals and 163 revenue village panchayats. The districts include Mahbubnagar, Medak, Nalgonda, Ranga Reddy, Sangareddy, Siddipet and Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri. Some of the major mandals on its route are Vikarabad, Pudur, Gajwel, Choutuppal and Toopran.