BENGALURU: AS part of land reclamation drive, Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) on Thursday demolished over 60 houses at Thanisandra in Bengaluru North. The property is said to be worth around `80 crore.
On Thursday, around 150 police personnel, 50 BDA staff, including revenue officers and land surveyors, carried out the demolition drive, deploying bulldozers to raze the structures. “Since it is a BDA property, it is not mandatory for notice to encroachers,” said an official.
The drive was halted in the evening, leaving barely a few houses in 2 acres untouched.
The BDA officials said that it has arranged shelter for the evictees at Hegde Nagar Community Hall and would deploy mobile toilets. “Food and water will also be provided temporarily,” said an official.
The residents, however, contested the BDA action and claimed they have been paying property taxes.
Senior BDA officials, who were monitoring the demolition drive, said that 22 unauthorised constructions had come up on two acres, as part of Arkavathy Layout. “The land survey numbers 28/1 and 28/2 in Saraipalya, Thanisandra Village were acquired in 2004 by the BDA from Muni Sonne Gowda, son of Thamme Gowda. As many as 33 persons, including Sonne Gowda, filed a petition before the court in 2014 challenging the acquisition, claiming that they had purchased sites from the land owner (Gowda),” said a senior engineer.
I was pulled out of washroom: Woman
“Following the court’s direction, the government set up the Keshavanarayana Committee, which ruled in favour of BDA in 2023. Gowda and the other claimants allegedly concealed the fact that the ruling was against them and have sold the sites to gullible persons, who have put additional rooms and halls and rented out the portions,” said a senior engineer.
Roohi Banu, who spoke on behalf of her sister who purchased the property from one Fathima, three months ago, said 15 members are staying in the house, which could be demolished anytime, as her neighbour’s building was already razed. She says the family will not leave the site.
“We paid Rs 54 lakh for the house and Rs 3.9 lakh for registration. There is an E-khata generated for the property that was purchased two months ago, in November 2025. The officials there should have at least alerted us if this was BDA land. We sold our small house for Rs 25 lakh, my sister pawned jewellery of her grown-up daughter and raised a loan of Rs 25 lakh apart from a hand loan for registration, and now we have to pay interest as well. We are not cheaters and, hence, are not going to leave our house,” said Roohi Banu.
Sumaiya Sultana, a tailor by profession, cursed the authorities and alleged that the demolition was done without any notice and, as a result, her belongings were damaged.
Five-month pregnant Firdouse, who works as a cook at a nearby apartment, alleged that officials pulled her from the washroom. She said that she has to feed her four children and has nowhere to go. “My husband is not good and does not work, I work as a cook and manage my house expenses, now due to demolition, I am on the street,” she said.