BENGALURU: Days after dumping plastic waste into the Vibhutipura Lake, in all alleged brazenness, a house is being constructed within the lake area, with officials reportedly turning a blind eye. Lake activists allege that when the matter was reported to the lake engineer, the BBMP demolished some structures during its encroachment removal drive.
It is learnt that a person identified as Sunitha and her husband, Alex, have built a structure that has reached lintel level with pillars, which came up by allegedly breaking a fence and breaching the buffer zone.
Last week, the residents and activists, along with Vibhuthipura Kere Kshema Abhivridhi Sangha, held a protest inside the lake area, urging the authorities to immediately raze the illegal structure.
“Initially, when we complained to the concerned lake official from Mahadevpura Zone, he responded by saying ‘let them build’. The official further stated that the BBMP is anyway going ahead with its encroachment removal drive and will remove the building that has come up in the lake,” mentioned a volunteer from the sangha.
Chief Engineer Vijaykumar Haridas said he was not aware of the development and added that he will ask the concerned engineer to take corrective measures and remove the encroachment from the lake. It is said that the Palike served a notice under Section 248 (1) of the BBMP Act, 2020, to stop the construction, very recently.