BENGALURU: Barely days after the news of a temporary road construction on Hoskerahalli Lake sparked a controversy, residents of Malleswaram and its surrounding areas have raised an alarm over the construction of a footbridge at Sankey Tank by the BBMP.
The bridge is expected to connect Sadashivanagar to Malleswaram 18th Cross and is slated to be 150-200 metres long. According to Lake Supervisor Gopal, the tenders for the bridge were called following demand from a few residents and the work began some weeks ago.
“I heard officials talking about the project. There will be a pillar in the lake. A huge steel pipe measuring 9 metres in width will be inserted and water will be drained and diverted into the lake itself. Steel rods will be placed around six pillars, which are 20-feet high each."
"The bridge will be concreted properly without disturbing the lake,” said Gopal. BBMP Lake Engineer Balaji confirmed the project and promised that the approval was sought from Karnataka Tank Conservation and Development Authority and all rules are being followed.
“The work is being done in a transparent manner and all the documents will be shared on Monday,” said Balaji. However, green warriors express concern. “There was no need for such a bridge. The lake ecology should not be disturbed,” said Vijay Nishanth, an urban conservationist.
Preeti Sunderajan from Citizens for Sankey said she has asked officials to share the Detailed Project Report (DPR). “Only after seeing the DPR and related documents can we understand the legality of the project,” said Sunderajan.