BENGALURU: Work at the Bangalore Development Authority head office at Palace Guttahalli and other divisional offices was disrupted for three hours on Saturday because of the grand farewell function for outgoing Commissioner Kumar Naik.
Engineers and officers from four divisions of the BDA participated in the function, causing inconvenience to the people. A formal function was held at noon in which Rakesh Singh, Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Development, and Tushar Girinath, BBMP Chief Commissioner, took part. This was followed by a grand lunch for nearly 700 people, including contractors, on the premises of the head office. Preparation for the function began a day earlier.
R Manjunath, president of the BDA Employees’ Association, which organised the function, said Rs 3 lakh had been spent. “The association has adequate funds as we collect Rs 500 each from 140 members every month. In addition to it, many seniors contributed generously. I myself contributed Rs 10,000. The Commissioner is a Karnataka cadre IAS officer who served for 33 years and we wanted to show our respect to him,” he said. The mega pandal was provided free of cost by a local company, he added.
“Along with 350 BDA staffers here, 140 data entry operators (outsourced staff), special task force personnel and employees from our other divisions attended the function,” Manjunath said. This function was in addition to a private party held at Windsor Manor the previous night for BDA employees. An event of this scale was held for the first time during working hours.
BDA takes control of its property worth over Rs 30 crore
The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), on Thursday, took control of its property valued at anywhere between Rs 30 crore and Rs 40 crore in Kattamanahalli and Konadaspura villages near Krishnarajapuram. A senior official said, six bulldozers were involved in the operation. A total of 1 acre and 10 guntas land was recovered at Kattamanahalli and 21 guntas at Konadaspura village.