BANGALORE: The residents of Amarajyothi Layout are all praise for the Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force’s (BMTF) immediate action over a complaint filed to the BBMP special task force on encroachment of huge chunk of land under high tension power lines in their area. Amarajyothi Layout is situated on either side of Intermediate Ring Road (Old Airport Road to Koramangala) at Domlur.
Appreciating the action, Amarajyothy Layout Resident’s Welfare Association, President, V Krishnamoorthy said, “The BMTF task force has indeed done a very good job by clearing all the encroachments and, thereby, recovering the land. The residents did not expect such fast action. "We had complained about this issue to many other authorities but action was never initiated. But this new team of BMTF is very prompt and fast.” The Amarajyothi Layout Resident’s Welfare Association had filed the complaint on December 16, 2011. On the very second day, a team was sent out for inspection of the encroached land. Finally, action was taken to clear the encroachment recently. In the Layout, there was a high tension line that was passing over an existing drain. As per rules, both sides of the line and the plots surrounding the line, have been left vacant by the corporation and earmarked as parks. Some of these areas are fenced while the others still remain vacant. These areas, both fenced and otherwise had been forcibly occupied by small tea shops, slum residents, unauthorised car parking etc, which was causing a nuisance and making life miserable for the residents.
When City Express contacted Domlur Corporator, Geetha Srinivasa Reddy, she said, “I was never informed about the clearance of encroached areas as it should have been done in writing to my sub-divisional engineers. What they have done is unfair, the people living in that small slum should have been relocated. For the past five days, these people are sleeping in the open and that too in cold weather. They had approached me and I asked them to go to a site near Honda Show Room in Domlur where they can put a few sheds and stay.” Fuming on the ongoing rowdyism in her ward, the corporator added, “The families have tried to settle in this area, however, there are some so-called leaders called Prema and Manu who are preventing them to relocate themselves in a different locality. I have discussed the issue with the Joint Commissioner of the BBMP and measures will be taken for them.”