BENGALURU: Residents of the Bangalore Development Authority’s flats at Gunjur and Kanminike can breathe easier as tenders have finally been called to provide permanent power supply in these areas. While flat owners or tenants of Gunjur have been waiting for this move for the last five years, BDA is finding it enormously difficult to sell off its newly-built flats at Kanminike with absence of electricity.
As on date, over 100 families have occupied the 560 1BHK, 168 2BHK and 68 3BHK flats allotted to them in 2012. They have been provided a temporary power connection by the contractor entrusted with completing works here. One Narayana Shetty, who moved into his 2 BHK flat at Gunjur with his family in April 2019, is still not convinced that the infrastructure will be in place soon. “As on date, we are paying the contractor money towards power bills ranging between Rs 350 to Rs 650, depending on the dimension of our flats. We were promised permanent electricity connection in November last year. Unless we actually get it, I am not sure we will have this facility.
“The absence of power backup has ensured that those using lifts are taking a risk whenever fluctuations occur, he added. The bigger problem is water supply with only two out of four borewells functional and poor security here making it risky for residents, Shetty said. The contractor slapped a hefty electricity bill on each household here last year with retrospective effect since their date of occupation of the houses creating major friction among the families last year. They finally agreed to pay a minimum amount, depending on flat dimensions.
For BDA though, the bigger headache is that a majority of its 897 brand new flats at Kanminike Phase-II, III, and IV (located near Christ University) are facing difficulties to get new buyers. “Though reasonably priced, the absence of power connection here is severely impacting the sale of these 2 BHK and 3BHK flats,” an official said. The BDA is working on creating road infrastructure at Kanminike. “We hope to install power connections here shortly. That will give a boost to the sale of our flats there,” he added.