BENGALURU: The status of an Indira canteen near Cantonment Railway Station on a land which is claimed by the Railways as theirs, remains unconfirmed even as Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials are hopeful. After the canteen was constructed, authorities of South Western Railway put up a board in front of the structure, stating that the land belongs to them.
This is among the 125 canteens in the city that are to be inaugurated on August 15. A BBMP official said a gazetted notification from 2015 confirmed that the land belongs to BBMP. M K Gunashekar, councillor of Jayamahal ward where the canteen has been constructed, said the Railways never claimed the land earlier when the BBMP was carrying out works there.
“Earlier, there was a slum on the plot. I got it cleared, fenced the area, planted saplings and carried out beautification works using BBMP funds. At the time, no one from the Railways came forward,” he said. He added that the canteen’s location was chosen to benefit the economically backward people. He called on the Railway department to consider the fact that the canteen will help the poor. The councillor could not confirm if the canteen could start operations from August 16.
BBMP Joint Commissioner Dr Ashok said he would speak to the Railway officials regarding the issue on Saturday. Earlier, BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad had said a joint survey of the plot would be carried out to decide its ownership.