BENGALURU: As the BBMP holds off on its demolition drive for the next four days, starting Friday until Monday, giving scores of families time to collect their belongings and take them to secure locations which are not earmarked for demolition, the Lake Encroachment Committee headed by Speaker K B Koliwad on Thursday has set a 20 day deadline to the BBMP, revenue and BDA officials submit specific details of encroachments on lakes, raja kaluves and buffer zones.
In a sign that the government does not want any fingers pointed on whether it has demolished buildings that have not flouted guidelines, is all too clear, the committee is reportedly concerned, after revenue officials failed to provide any details other than informing it about 275 illegal constructions underway on lake- beds around Bengaluru.
Coming down hard on the officials for their lack of preparedness, the committee ordered them to submit the final report on encroachments of lakes, raja kaluves and buffer zones, as well as the list of permits given by the BDA, BBMP, and the environment and other departments for constructing buildings on lake buffer zones. It demanded to know why the A. T. Ramaswamy committee report had found 48 acres around the Bellandur lake encroached on, when its own recent survey had found only 10 acres occupied by illegal constructions.
Spare my son’s room, pleads Niranjan’s mum
The irony was lost on no-one! The BBMP, which considered renaming a road in Doddabommasandra after the late commando Lt. Col. Niranjan is now preparing to bulldoze a portion of his house. The officer, part of the NSG's Bomb Disposal Squad, was killed while defusing a grenade at the Pathankot air base in January this year.
Late commando Lt. Col. Niranjan's mother, Radha
The commando's father, Shivarajan called BBMP officials on the phone and offered to demolish the pillar on the drain and set an example. But the fallen soldier's distraught mother, Radha (left), pleaded for his room be spared.
"My son gave his life for the country. He is a hero. As a mark of respect, the government should consider sparing his room," she said. The BBMP has marked a five metre area that includes a pillar supporting the officer's room for demolition.
