Bengaluru, the Silicon Valley of India, was left paralyzed after the heavy rains in the city led to floods, disrupting life and residents and causing significant damage to properties and roads. Bengaluru civil authorities have released a list of encroachers, which includes 700 structures, that were the main cause of the floods in Karnataka city since they blocked the stormwater drains in the city, as per media reports.
Encroachers in Bengaluru who are currently facing the threat of demolition are big and high-profile companies and IT parks, such as Wipro and Prestige. Though demolitions are advancing in full force in the city, these mammoth companies still remain untouched by the authorities.
As the BBMP said that some of the big names included in the list of encroachers who caused the floods are
- Bagmane Tech Park and Purva Paradise in Mahadevapura,
- RBD in 3 locations
- Wipro in Doddakannelli
- Eco-Space in Bellandur
- Gopalan in multiple locations & Diya school in Hoodi.
Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike informed the high court on Monday that 980 illegal buildings had been discovered throughout the city in a recent survey. Many of these illegal structures had been blocking drains which led to waterlogging and floods in the city during the recent wet spell. BBMP already started a demolition drive in the illegal commercial & residential buildings of the Mahadevapura area.
Many residents said they were given no prior notice of the demolition and found out about it only when they heard the bulldozers in action.
“They have not informed us. We were not informed. When the demolition began, we were inside our homes,” said Alok, a resident of the four-story building that was being demolished. I was sleeping. I had finished my night shift and was fast asleep. I woke up suddenly to the loud noises of the demolition,” said Praveen, another resident of Bengaluru.