BENGALURU: Waterlogging on the road towards BTS bus depot in Rajarajeshwari Nagar is causing problems for commuters who are forced to pass through a pool of water amid heavy traffic. Few hours of rains on Sunday, and the bus depot in RR Nagar was flooded with sewage water and rain. Talking to City Express, development and maintenance engineer of RR Nagar, Prakash, said that the waterlogging here is due to an encroacher — a renowned lawyer, apparently — building illegal constructions here.
According to Prakash, the High Court has clearly given an order to clear all encroachments around the depot. The residents here told us that waterlogging is an issue every year, and especially at this spot for the last three years. Corporator for RR Nagar, Nalini S Manju, said, “It is because of the illegal structures built around the depot that officials are unable to carry out drainage work to ensure proper flow of water.”
A resident of Chennasandra, who passes by this route every day, said, “Multiple times, drain work has been taken up, but the roads remain in the same pitiable state. I almost lost one of my legs last year when I tried passing through a pool of water,” he rued.
The owner of a hotel that is few metres ahead of the bus depot, recalled, “There are some buildings around the depot that are not supposed to be there. The drain water passes through this stretch, and the stormwater drain (SWD) workers have to struggle every year to clear the waterlogged streets, while the buildings remain intact.”
Engineer Prakash stressed that a case has been filed in the Land Grabbing Court, and a notice was also issued. Still, he alleged, that the owner of these buildings has not budged, but instead, gives them trouble each time they try getting permission to demolish these illegal structures, Prakash alleged. He added, “The encroacher has filed a writ petition in court, claiming that demolishing these structures would be a violation. This is a necessity, as the hotels and sheds around the depot are causing problems in doing sewage and drain work”Meanwhile, coporator Manju said, “We have now asked the owner to clear this government land off all the encroachments. It is likely to be done in 10-15 days.” Prakash said that as per court orders, these encroachments need to be demolished.
Basavaraj, assistant executive engineer for demolition and development work in RR Nagar, is responsible for taking action against these encroachments, informed Prakash. When CE tried to reach out to the concerned official, he was unavailable for comment. Prakash alleged that the engineer responsible has been delaying the work.