Lallaguda’s century-old Sacred Heart Church faces eviction-Telangana Today

The SCR notice said the church, built in 1927, was an encroachment on railway land and ordered that it be vacated within a month. It further warned that failure to do so would result in eviction proceedings under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupiers) Act 1971 and could result in legal action.

Hyderabad: A nearly century-old church in the city’s Lallaguda is facing uncertainty amid orders to vacate the premises.

Sacred Heart Church, the parish church of the South Lallaguda Catholic community, has received a holiday notice from the South Central Railway (SCR), stating that the religious structure located on the colony’s railway land of officers and staff of the SLGD was built illegally.

The SCR notice described the church, built in 1927, as an encroachment on railway land and advised vacating it within a month. “Failure to comply with this direction will require eviction proceedings under the provisions of the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act 1971 and legal action may be taken against you,” it reads.

In the early years of the last century, Lallaguda, the headquarters of the Nizam’s guaranteed state railway company, was a small settlement with a few Catholics where mass was celebrated on Sundays at the railway school by a priest of St. Mary’s Church in Secunderabad. .

In February 1927, the railways entered into an agreement to allocate land for the construction of a church and permission to build the church was granted in March 1927 and construction began in July of the same year.

The church was in the shape of a cross and cost Rs. 7,000 of which Rs.1,000 was Nizam’s contribution, and were dedicated to the Sacred Heart and blessed by Mgr. Vismara, the third bishop of Hyderabad, gives details on the church’s website available on the website.

An interesting aspect is that when it was equipped, the church bell caused a lot of enthusiasm. “Records reveal that a lively and amusing battle raged between the non-Catholic residents and Fr. Tinti. While the former claimed that the sound of the church bell at 5:30 a.m. shatters the peace and tranquility of the early morning, not to mention the blissful sleep of late risers, Fr. Tinti claimed that ringing the bell was a necessity. Fr. Tinti’s diplomacy saved the situation and the Church bell continues to ring for all occasions,” we read.

Over the decades the church grew and renovated and during the tenure of Fr. Madanu Arogyam, an asbestos structure with gallery was erected. It was blessed and inaugurated by Archbishop Samineni Arulappa. Fr Chopparapu Arogyam installed the Blessed Sacrament in September 1998 and during his tenure further modifications were made to the building and the asbestos roof was replaced with RCC roofing. Archbishop Marampudi Joji blessed the renovated chapel in March 2004.

However, Church representatives were not available to comment on the SCR opinion.