BENGALURU: A couple who teach Yoga live with their son and daughter-in-law in Arkavathy Layout’s 18th Block at Gedalahalli, the only house constructed in a sprawling area where over 500 sites have been allotted by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA). It is a daily struggle to survive here as the empty sites get transformed by late evening into a space where prostitution, ganja and alcohol consumption flourish.
After trying for a BDA site here since 1986, the house owner Subramanya Reddy managed to get it in his 8th attempt in 1998. He built his house in 2017. Before then or after, not a single house has come up in this Block, off Hennur Main Road, thanks to an uncompensated land loser who wields control over the area.
The weeds that have mushroomed all around give this house an idyllic setting in the midst of greenery. But residing here is anything but idyllic. Reddy, an aerospace engineer turned yoga teacher, is upset over the scare his pregnant daughter-in-law suffered recently when a miscreant chased her inside the Layout when returning home. He told The New Indian Express, “She fell down and suffered minor injuries. Hearing her screams, someone rushed to help and the assaulter escaped. We filed a police complaint later. There is no safety for any of us.”
The temporary electricity connection taken forces the family to shell out Rs 3500 per month while Rs 4,000 goes towards buying water.
Wife Chandrakala recalled her shock when a wall sprung up overnight suddenly blocking the entrance to the layout over a year ago. “I was leaving at 4 am to teach Yoga and the exit was blocked. Through a narrow gap, I literally crawled out and then dragged by vehicle too to make it to my workspot on time.” The family now uses another entrance, a roundabout one.
The person who built the wall, Rama Reddy, a BWSSB contractor, coolly acknowledged his role. “Yes, I built that wall. I will neither allow BDA officials nor site owners to build their houses inside the layout. A total of 14.5 acres of our family’s land has been taken which includes 2.75 acres of my property. I have not received a rupee as compensation from the BDA nor an inch of land. For the last 18 years, I am running to BDA office in my search for justice. Let them give me an alternative land and I will not create problems for anyone.”
A top BDA official conceded they were at fault as they were yet to provide alternative land to Reddy.