Chief Minister Siddaramaiah along with Ministers Ramalinga Reddy, R. Roshan Baig, Dinesh Gundurao, Krishna Byre Gowda and others during his city rounds at Banaswadi in Bengaluru on Saturday (Photo: KPN)
Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday announced that the government will allot 400 BDA flats to those who lost their homes during the recent encroachment demolition drive, while choosing to deny that his government is anti-poor.
After his weekly city inspection on Saturday, Mr Siddaramaiah said that he instructed the Urban Department officials to identify genuine cases of homeless and the destitute, who had lost their homes recently.
“There are reports that thousands of people have lost their homes during the drive. There’s no truth to these rumours, as only 11 families have lost their homes. As many as 153 homes have been partially demolished in the drive. As and when the genuine cases are identified, they will be rehabilitated to BDA flats in Alur. We will give away 400 houses for free to benefit the poor,” he said.
Mr Siddaramaiah said that the poor will not be affected by the drive and only encroachments on rajakaluves and drains will be demolished hereafter. The CM, who visited the Varthur Kodi Bridge following complaints of foam and fire emanating in Varthur Lake, said that a sewage treatment plant (STP) is being constructed in the inlet point of the lake in Balegere in Varthur Hobli, which will solve the sewage problem in these lakes.
“The upcoming plant in Varthur has the capacity to arrest 90 MLD sewage and treating it. Of the 450 MLD sewage that flows through Varthur and Bellandur lakes, 90 MLD will be treated in this STP. The project has been taken up at a cost of Rs 250 crore and will be completed by August 2016. I have given strict instructions to the officials to meet the deadline,” he said.
Mr Siddaramaiah further said that the sewage which flowed through Varthur and Bellandur lakes was eventually reaching Tamil Nadu. “Proposals have been made to treat the sewage in the upcoming STPs. Once completed, the secondary treated water will be let into the lakes in Anekal, Kolar, Hoskote and Bengaluru Rural areas. The treated water will fill some of the dried lakes in these regions,” he said.
Briefing about his visit to Kaikondanahalli Lake, he said that the lake was developed by the BBMP in association with Mahadevapura Parisara Samrakshane Mattu Abhivrudhi Samiti, but walkers and residents complained that the lake area was encroached upon. Also, there complaints that some of these encroachers were littering the lake as they did not have toilet facilities, he said.
“The residents have complained that sewage from nearby apartments was directly entering the lake. I have directed the officials to not give permission in future for the construction of buildings which do not have facilities to treat their own sewage. Also, notices will be issued to owners who have set up sheds on lake area and have not made toilet facilities for these shed occupants," he said.
The CM then announced that in a bid to ease the traffic, he had instructed the BDA to prepare a DPR for an elevated corridor near Isolation Hospital on Old Madras Road. A new road is proposed near ITPL too, he said. “As much as works to the tune of Rs 710 crore will be taken up in Mahadevapura,” he said.
Traffic chaos at Ramamurthy Nagar
In what appears to be a desperate attempt to keep his promise of weekly inspections, the CM’s inspection on Saturday, the second in a month, triggered traffic chaos. His convoy brought many areas on the periphery to a grinding halt. Though the city normally sees lean traffic during weekends, areas like Hosur Road, Sarjapura, Mahadevapura, Ramamurthy Nagar, Outer Ring Road, K.R Puram, Horamavu, and Hebbal were choked with traffic for hours.
Since the CM had not planned to visit the railway underbridge works in Horamavu, a sudden stop threw traffic out of gear around 7.30 pm. The traffic cops too were caught unawares. After a brief stop, the CM’s convoy was forced to move as restless commuters endlessly honked.
Whitefield Rising recommendations
A few members of Whitefield Rising presented a chart and recommendations to the CM. They demanded that the 90 MLD upstream sewage treatment plant in Bellandur Amanikere should be put on fast track and the output of this STP should be pushed through the wetlands to Varthur Lake. They also said that all the untreated waste water entering Varthur Lake should be diverted to downstream.
They said the Varthur Lake should be dredged and desilted and the lake bund should be strengthened. It is said that the BWSSB’s recommendations for rejuvenation of Bellandur Lake was successful and the board tried to adopt the same for Varthur Lake. However, the members of Whitefield Rising argued that the same would not work for Varthur Lake and demanded alternate measures.
Campaigning of sorts?
In what appeared like a politically-motivated visit, the CM inspected a slum in Mahalingeshwara Layout in Adugodi on Hosur Main Road. Though he was supposed to visit houses which were being constructed for the minorities under Rajiv Gandhi Awas Yojana, the welcome thrown for the CM by party workers had a different story to tell.
Loud slogans and whistles welcomed the CM. Nearly 250 families from economically weaker sections and minorities are expected to get houses under this scheme, which will be completed by 2016. Meanwhile, the mood was no different in areas like K.R. Puram and Horamavu, where the party workers burst crackers and welcomed the CM.
Though the CM claimed it was a surprise inspection in these areas, the party workers waited for hours to meet the CM. When queried about this, he said that the local MLA, who was aware of his visit, had informed the party workers and the CM’s team had no role in this.
