INDIA. Bengaluru: Major builders, developers and technology parks are on the list of alleged defaulters who shut down around 700 stormwater canals in Bengaluru leading to last week’s floods in various parts of the city.
The list includes Wipro, Prestige, Eco Space, Bagmane Tech Park, Columbia Asia Hospital and Divyashree Villas, reported by NDTV, which accessed the hit list from big names. It also seems that while the demolitions of ordinary people’s properties are in full swing, the monstrous companies are yet to be touched.
Engineers speaking on condition of anonymity said they too would not be spared. But the action is just beginning. “We’re moving one after the other. But we’re seeing a clear delay on the ground,” one of them said.
However, there was a demolition drive at the premises of the Nalapad Academy International School in East Bengaluru, which belongs to the opposition Congress leader, who has been the biggest critic of the Karnataka BJP government over the floods. The school belongs to Youth Congress President Mohammed Nalapada.
Asked how the encroachment by the school went unnoticed, Malathi, the chief engineer who oversaw the demolition, blamed the revenue department.
“We didn’t know. This comes under the revenue department. They should have kept the check. Now we are removing the interference,” she stated.
Meanwhile, demolition in the residential area has been underway since last week, although no official figures are available yet. In eastern Bengaluru, the boundary wall of a four-storey building was levelled on Tuesday while residents were inside their homes.
The owner of the building, Dinesh Reddy, claimed that he had obtained “all necessary permissions” before starting construction.
“This stormwater drain has been there for a long time and despite knowing it, the authorities permitted me to construct the building. I did not violate any rules. They came and demolished the compound wall without any notice,” he said.
Many residents said they were not notified of the demolition in advance and only learned of it when they heard the bulldozers in action.
“They did not inform us. We were not informed. We were inside our houses when the demolition started,” said Alok, a resident of the demolished four-storey building.
“I was sleeping. I had finished my night shift and was sleeping soundly. Suddenly I was woken up by loud demolition noises,” said Praveen, another resident.
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