BENGALURU: Residents of a high-end apartment complex on Outer Ring Road in Bellandur have been complaining of illegal dumping on the private land next to Bellandur lake for a couple of years now. However, in the past two months, residents claim that there has been a sudden rise in slums and dumping of debris near the lake.
“These settlements have increased to a shocking number. There are two specific areas — one towards the lake and the other behind a school,” said Sumit Gupta, a resident in the area. A former RWA member Satish Jha said, “Mud is being brought in to level the land, and there is illegal dumping going on. We think whoever is doing it is supporting the slum-dwellers as well.”
“Two years back, through some revenue officers, I was able to look into the BDA plan and found that there are many private owners to the land. According to the plan, no structures can be built near the lake, which is why there is a fence surrounding the area. But slums have come up just outside the fence so lake marshals say they cannot do anything. Now the garbage has been piling up and they are burning it. This is a public health issue. Despite complaining to the BBMP health commissioner and the pollution control board, no action has been taken so far,” said
Seema Sharma, a resident of Bellandur who is a citizen activist. Earlier, a slum-dweller had told The New Indian Express that many of them come from Assam, UP, Tamil Nadu, and other parts of Karnataka and settle here since there are no jobs back home.
Health Inspector Mahesh said that the BBMP cannot clear the area since the area is littered with construction debris and not garbage. “While there are illegal encroachments, it is not garbage being dumped but rather debris,” he told TNIE. Last year, the BBMP demolished over 400 houses in Kariyammana Agrahara in Bellandur limits, claiming they were in the buffer zone of the rajakaluve in the area.
Meanwhile, Gangambike Mallikarjun, BBMP Mayor, gave an assurance that said she would conduct a survey of the situation and discuss the matter with the Commissioner soon and would also speak to the officers on the ground.