BENGALURU: A fight of around three years of the members of the oldest resident association in Indiranagar, the Social Amenities Association of HAL 2nd Stage, against illegal businesses and establishments finally yielded results on Tuesday.
Around 10 to 12 business establishments that included commercial offices, a liquor shop and others were closed down by the BBMP owing to various zonal regulations that the association had highlighted and complained about with the authorities.
Dr R Srinivas, a member of the association that started in 1986, says, "We have been representing our case for a long time now. The whole road is jammed due to the cars parked from these illegal establishments. People from the liquor shop cause nuisance with some of them drinking on the road and disposing the bottles there itself. Women cannot even walk here in the night."
He further points out that commercial spaces have come out in residential buildings in clear violation of the laws. "We have RTI documents that show that the sanctioned plan is residential but it is not used for this purpose. This in itself is an outright violation. If it was converted it then it is a different thing. This small bylane is jampacked with these establishments but none of these have any proper licenses," he adds
The establishments that were closed on Tuesday were mostly on 9th Main near the Indiranagar Club. A number of associations in Indiranagar have been putting up a brave fight against violations by many commercial establishments for a long time, the latest against a number of pubs and bars in the area which residents claim have no proper licenses and permissions.