The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) ongoing anti-encroachment drive was intensified on Thursday, and the civic body completely demolished a one-storey building in the Mahadevapura zone after giving prior notice to the residents.
BBMP officials said that the building was demolished in Munnekolala’s Shantiniketan Layout. “The Revenue Department tahsildar had earlier issued a notice to the residents staying in the building to move out of the structure soon. As per the notice, the residents have vacated the building and hence, on Thursday, using JCB, we completely demolished the building,” said a senior BBMP official.
In another encroachment drive by BBMP, the officials had started demolishing a four-storey building in Papaiah Reddy Layout. However, the drive was stopped after noticing that further demolition work may harm other adjoining buildings.
“On September 13, we had served a notice to the four storey building’s residents to vacate since the building is constructed on the rajakaluve, but on Thursday, we found that using JCB and demolishing the building may damage other adjoining buildings, so we have decided to use men to demolish the building in another few days,” an official added.
Mahadevapura Zone Special Commissioner K.V. Trilok Chandra, who was present at the demolition sites on Thursday, said in both Papaiah Reddy Layout and Shantiniketan Layout, the buildings have encroached upon 500 metres of storm-water drains (SWD) and once the demolitions are done, the BBMP will soon rebuild the SWDs in these areas.
Meanwhile, the civic body officials said that the drive at upscale Greenwood Regency is almost completed. “The slabs built on the SWD have been removed and there are a few beautifications done on these slabs that are yet to be removed. After this, the whole encroachment on the SWD in Greenwood Regency will be removed,” officials said.
