BENGALURU: A rift between the residents and police in Girinagar has left them with no police station of their own. The police are staking claim on a civic amenity (CA) site measuring 120x120sq ft, allotted to them by the BDA. However, a few residents of the area have been protesting against this, claiming that the land is important lung space as well as a volleyball field for children and that it should be left undisturbed.
Nearly 50 residents of Girinagar, including the area MLA Ravi Subramanya and Girinagar councillor A V Nandini Vijaya Vittal, protested against the construction of the police station by halting digging work for the construction of the Girinagar police station. The protest led to Commissioner T Suneel Kumar agreeing to put the project on hold for the time being, pending an inquiry. But the matter is not as simple as it looks on the surface. Many residents themselves are divided on this issue as a few pointed out that the playground was being used by a private school which didn’t have a ground of its own. “Of the 50 protestors who were gathered on Friday at the playground, most of them were from the school management and Vishwabharathi Kshemabhivruddi Sangha, which the school owner is reportedly part of,” said a resident on condition of anonymity.
The site was allotted to police department in 1994 when the then officer of BDA, Krishna Bhat allotted the site to police when the BDA was forming Vishwa Bharathi Layout.The police had earlier begun construction work only to stop it when residents approached politician Katta Subramanya Naidu and managed to stop the work.
The present police station is being run out of a two-storeyed residential building since December 1984. “The station does not have a proper lock up, toilet or chambers. We are asking for the land which is ours and not taking up any land meant for a playground,” said a senior police officer.
Some of the policemen also alleged that the MLA Ravi Subramanya is also supporting the protesters in fear of losing out on a vote bank of nearly 3000 members of the sangha if he goes against their purpose.
To make matters worse, the police are paying a whopping Rs. 84,000 per month as rent to the owner of the residential building they are operating out of. Apart from this, they paid Rs 40 lakh arrears to the owner recently.
Councillor Nandini told The New Indian Express that she was not aware who the site belonged to. However, she agreed that it did not belong to BBMP. However, she claimed that the site doesn’t belong to the police department. When asked why this playground was essential as there were many other parks and play grounds in the area, she said that the residents wanted this land too.