On the list of encroachers who blocked drains leading to floods in Bengaluru are IT giant Wipro, Prestige, and plush Epsilon, the society which is home to business tycoons like Rishad Premji. Will action be taken against them?
The anti-encroachment drive in the Gopalan school premises of Basavananagar in the Mahadevpur constituency. Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai sanctioned Rs 300 crore for removing encroachments and illegal construction. Image courtesy: @ArvindLBJP/Twitter
It was a nightmare on all of Bengaluru’s streets last week, as non-stop floods brought the city to a grinding halt. The deluge exposed the chicks in the IT hub’s civic infrastructure, as everything from state-of-the-art tech parks to luxury villas was under water.
Last week, Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai sanctioned Rs 300 crore for removing encroachments and illegal construction which blocked around 700 stormwater drains (SWD) in the capital, leading to large-scale waterlogging.
Also read: Bengaluru deluge: How poor planning added to the city’s woes
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has identified at least 15 encroachments, most of them in the Mahadevpura area, which is part of the tech corridor. The document, dated 17 August, weeks before the floods, shows that properties built on various survey numbers in the Mahadevapura zone had blocked the water flow on stormwater drains (SWD).
We take a look at who the offenders are.
The encroachers: Wipro, Bagmane Tech Park and more
Some of the city’s famous IT parks and commercial buildings have been listed as encroachers. Wipro, one of the world’s biggest tech companies, finds itself on the wrong side of the law.
Prestige, Eco Space, Salarpuria, Bagmane Tech Park, Columbia Asia Hospital, and Divyashree Villas are also alleged offenders, who are likely to be pulled up for encroaching the drains.
The plush Epsilon, the society which houses affluent business tycoons like Wipro chairman Rishad Premji, Britannia CEO Varun Berry, and Big Basket co-founder Abhinay Choudhari, is also reportedly on the list.
Industrialist Harsh Goenka shared a video of Elipson on 7 September, where luxury cars and posh bungalows were seen submerged in water. “Scenes from the finest housing society Epsilon in #Bangalore where the rich and famous stay. If the city wants to continue the moniker of ‘IT capital of the world’ we have to improve the infrastructure of the city”, he wrote on Twitter.
The demolition drive
Civic body BBMP started a demolition drive in Bengaluru against the encroachments on Monday and it continues.
On Tuesday, the eviction drive was conducted along SWDs in Mahadevapura and Yelahanka zones. The wall of a residential building in Papaiah layout was cleared and in Yelahanka a compound wall of NCBS Mandara Housing Complex was demolished.
Mahadevapura MLA Aravind Limbavalli said that encroachments within Nalapad Academy, Gopalan school premises, Shantiniketan layout, parts of Epsilon Villa and Eco Space were cleared by the BBMP and the revenue department.
“In Mahadevapura assembly constituency’s Challagatta, Nalapad Academy had encroached Survey No 70, and now its clearing work has been initiated by BBMP and revenue department officials. Operation to vacate illegal encroachment in Gopalan school premises of Basavananagar of Mahadevapura Assembly Constituency,” he tweeted.
“Many areas of our constituency are flooded due to heavy rains. Encroachment of Rajakaluve (SWD) is the main reason for this. So I request our residents to vacate any illegal encroachments if done,” the MLA added.
He said that slabs of the Epsilon villa drain that obstructed the flow of water in Rajakaluve near Yemalur were removed.
However, the demolition drive at Bagmane Tech Park was halted following an order by the Karnataka Lokayukta to follow legal procedures, reports The Times of India.
The politics and controversies
An anti-encroachment drive was carried out on the premises of Nalapad Academy of International School in east Bengaluru, which belongs to a leader of the Opposition Congress, which has been a big critic of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Karnataka government. The school belongs to Congress Youth President Mohammed Nalapad, reports NDTV.
However, there has been growing criticism that it is the properties belonging to the common man which are being targeted while the rich and the powerful are spared.
In the eastern part of the city, the boundary wall of a four-storey building was razed while residents were inside their homes on Tuesday. They complained that they had not been informed about the demolition, the channel reports.
While the common man’s properties are being demolished, little action is being taken against companies so far. PTI
“I was sleeping. I had finished my night shift and was fast asleep. I woke up suddenly to the loud noises of the demolition,” said Praveen, a resident told NDTV.
Even as the bulldozing of illegal structures continued in several areas of the Mahadevapura zone, allegations of “bias against the poor” surfaced.
Speaking during the monsoon session of the state Assembly, senior Janata Dal (Secular) legislator AT Ramaswamy said, “They (government) have demolished the homes of poor people but left out the rich,” to which the Assembly speaker interjected, stating that there were many stay orders.The government’s take
Karnataka revenue minister R Ashoka kicked up a storm with his comment on IT companies. He said more than 30 IT companies had encroached on stormwater drains while they were the most vocal after flooding in the city last week, reports News18.com.
The waterlogging outside Wipro. The IT company has been named an encroacher. The government has said that no offender would be spared. PTI
“We have asked our officers to demolish any encroachments whether its rich or poor. More than 30 IT companies have encroached storm water drains, they were talking big but many of these companies and builders have encroached. We won’t spare anyone, no question of giving time to anyone,” said Ashoka.CM Bommai said on Monday that the drive against encroachments in the city will not stop until the last encroachment is cleared and no encroacher, including the IT/BT firms.
“Eviction notices have been served on those who have built commercial buildings or houses on stormwater drains (SWDs). We will clear them all. There is no question of sparing anyone.”
With inputs from agencies
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.