Bengaluru: Hundreds of residents and local businessmen in and around Nagawara staged a protest against the state government and Karle Special Economic Zone located near Manyata Tech Park on Monday, alleging that the SEZ has encroached upon a storm water drain.
The local residents claimed that Karle Infrastructure has built a wall blocking the storm water drain, which led to the flooding of Nagawara during recent heavy rains. “The company has not only blocked the SWD, but also encroached it,” the residents said.
Sunanda Bai, a resident of Nagawara, said, “We have been staying in the area for over a decade and we never faced the problem of floods during rains. But this year, houses and shops in Nagawara were filled with sewage water and muck whenever it rained.”
She said, “The sole reason for the flooding is the concrete wall constructed in the drain by the the Karle SEZ. As the water could not flow out, it spilt onto the roads and entered our houses. We complained to the authorities, but no action was taken.”
The residents alleged that the Karle SEZ has tampered with the land documents and survey maps. Anil Gowda, another resident, showing original documents and maps and the altered map, said, “We have both the maps and the Karle SEZ has paid hefty amounts as bribes to officials and changed the map. In the original map, the storm water drain does not take a detour. But in the tampered map, the SWD changes course in front of the compound wall of the SEZ.”
The residents said that recently, several ministers and Lake Protection Committee members visited the spot, but failed to look into the issue. “We have decided to block the SWD completely by dumping mud, as this will cause flooding in adjacent areas of Nagawara. At least then, the officials will wake up to solve the problems,” warned the residents. None of the officials of Karle SEZ were available for comment.
