BENGALURU: Residents living around the Pattandur Agrahara Lake will form a human chain on Sunday at the lake on ECC Road, Whitefield. They will be protesting against the encroachment of the lake which they claim happened because of the government’s inaction. The lake — which has seen dumping of debris in the past — is slowly being taken over by private companies with the collusion of government officials, residents alleged.
“The government has been inept in protecting the lake and meanwhile, lawyers and officials have colluded to allow encroachment. We will demand that the Chief Minister constitute a High Power Committee, or a Judicial Enquiry to immediately probe into the lapses, and take action to save the lake immediately. Several public personalities have come forward to express their solidarity and issue statements on the issue,” said Sandeep Anirudhan of the Pattandur Agrahara RWA Federation.
In March, 2018, the group had been given an assurance by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner that dumping at the lake and construction work would be stopped. Residents allege that a road is being constructed through the lake’s buffer zone and that debris dumping has been taking place for a long time.
The Karnataka High Court in April this year, first issued notices to civic agencies asking them to clear the lake of encroachments and in a later order directed that revenue records of the lake be transferred to the names of private parties who had staked their claim to the lake. The Court’s order was based on a decree issued in 2016 declaring the lake to be private which was not contested by the government. Residents are protesting this inaction which would result in the lake getting declared a private land.