BENGALURU: BBMP’s Stormwater Drain (SWD) Department has demolished an unauthorised structure at a fuel station built on a piece of land said to be owned by a politician and reclaimed a 356-sqft stretch of drain on Basavanagar Main Road in KR Puram.
According to Srinivas, assistant engineer, SWD, KR Puram Sub-Division, the encroachment on the stretch of the drain that connects Vibhutipura Lake with Doddanekundi Lake has been cleared. However, landowner Manohar S, who had unsuccessfully contested as a JDS candidate from CV Raman Nagar Assembly constituency, termed the demolition drive selective and alleged that it had been done in his absence. Manohar has leased his land to an agency to run a fuel station. He said that he would approach a court of law against the BBMP’s action.
Palike officials said that the drive was launched on February 25 on the land bearing survey No 161 at Vibhutipura village in KR Puram. Then, the landowners approached the Palike and gave an undertaking that they would remove the unauthorised structures on the drain.
“Of the 6,229 sqft of land, 356 sqft is part of the SWD network. If the encroached area is reclaimed, the roof of the fuel station on 6,229 sqft of land will get damaged. Hence, the landowners sought time. But when they did not clear the encroachment, we demolished it on June 17 and reclaimed 356 sqft of drain area,” Srinivas said.
Dismissing Palike’s claims, Manohar said that the matter is in the High Court. Even before the court verdict, BBMP personnel damaged the canopy of the fuel station. “I was not given any notice. It was issued to Samruddhi, an agency that runs the fuel station,” Manohar said. Though many have encroached on the SWD, only he has been targeted by the Palike, he alleged.