Hyderabad, Feb. 24 -- For eight years, they cleared the vegetation, built their homes and settled into the land in Khammam that no one seemed interested in. On Tuesday, February 24, the authorities arrived with bulldozers to take it back.

Special forces drawn from four districts moved in on the 31-acre plot in the morning to evict about 500 families living on what is allegedly Bhodan land, or land allotted by the government to landless citizens. Authorities had issued eviction notices earlier, stating that the land was government property. As the notice period expired, the demolition began.

Protesters gathered at the Velugumatla Collectorate complex, with some sitting atop bulldozers to obstruct their movement. When the residents had re...