BENGALURU: The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) on Monday demolished four commercial structures and three sheds at Somashettyhalli that had been built in violation of the Supreme Court order on Dr K Shivaram Karanth Layout. The 10-hour demolition operation carried out after prior intimation to the owners was marked by high drama with T Dasarahalli MLA R Manjunath and his supporters trying to stall it.
A three-storeyed building, three two-storeyed buildings and three sheds were razed. The demolition drive began at 7 am and ended by 5 pm, said a BDA official. Nearly 200 policemen were deployed at the site.
A highly placed BDA source said, “These were commercial constructions that had come up in the last ten months. The SC had directed that any building constructed after August 3, 2018 on land notified for the layout would be deemed illegal. Those who built these structures had put up commercial buildings in an area marked as a residential layout.”
Local residents started resisting soon after the demolition commenced. There was more drama a couple of hours later. “Local MLA Manjunath arrived with a large number of supporters and demanded that the demolition be stopped. There were angry exchanges for over half-an-hour. We finally convinced the MLA that we were following SC orders,” said an official. The MLA and his supporters were made to leave by cops. Another official said notices were issued to the owners a few days ago about the demolition. The demolished buildings were on Survey numbers 52/1, 54/5 and 55/2.
This is the third such demolition in Dr Karanth Layout in the last four months. BDA officials said more such demolitions are in the offing. “Nearly 500 unauthorised structures spread across 16 villages have been identified in a survey conducted by BDA with Somashettyhalli and Lakshmipura topping in the violations list,” an official said.