BENGALURU: The demolition of hundreds of sheds at Bellandur by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) on Saturday was reportedly done due to complaints from residents of nearby apartments.
Those left homeless after the demolition are now staying at other sheds in the vicinity. Several other sheds still stand but their occupants are afraid that the demolition will resume. Many say they have been living in the area for eight years and no demolition has ever taken place earlier.
Rahim Khan, who lost his home to the demolition, said, “They did not give any warning. They just told us to collect our belongings and vacate the shed in half-an-hour.” Khan estimates that about 600 sheds were demolished between 7am and 6pm on Saturday. Several occupants of the sheds work at Mantri Espana, the same apartment whose residents reportedly complained to the BBMP, leading to the demolition drive.
Zakir Hussain, another dweller, said residents of Mantri Espana believed that the occupants of the sheds urinated and defaecated in the open. “But our people do not do that. We all have our own toilets. Such things are done by people who come here from outside. Just today, I confronted and chased away a group of men from outside who were defaecating here,” he said.
The land on which the sheds were erected has been in dispute for years. Narayanappa T, one of the parties fighting for the land, confirmed that the sheds were illegal, but said he had not asked for the demolition to be carried out. BBMP’s chief engineer of Mahadevapura zone G Parameshwara said the demolition had been stopped for now.