BBMP decides to bulldoze 700-odd encroachments

Bengaluru: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has moved to demolish 714 buildings near Rajakaluve (Storm Water Drain- SWD) in the wake of rain water-flooding incident in Bengaluru.

The BBMP officials have prepared a list of 714 buildings which have encroached the SWD in the city. Soon they will be conducting a demolition drive on the unauthorised structures built on rajakaluves.

There was a demolition drive conducted on encroached buildings in the city in 2016-17. A total of 2,626 places have encroached the rajakaluves, out of which 1,890 encroached places have been cleared. Still 736 encroached structures are yet to be cleared. Officials say the encroached areas that was previously cleared was not flooding now.

On the other hand, local MLAs are not allowing the demolition drive even though the state has prepared a list of 714 buildings that have encroached rajakaluve. As the MLA's have been pressuring authorities to stop the demolition drive.

There have been rumours that the government has also given oral instructions to the authorities not to clear the encroachments. Officials fear that if there is no timely action taken to clear the encroachments, there will be floods in the future. As Bengaluru will witness cloudy skies over the next 2 days, with a few spells of rains or thundershowers likely, according to the forecast by the local meteorological centre. Maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be around 30 and 20 degrees Celsius respectively.