BBMP reclaims encroached land worth Rs 15.26 cr

The Palike took possession of 15,1,370.14 sqft during the drive in the entire city in the last three months.The anti-encroachment drive, to clear the tertiary drains, was initiated after a prolonged delay in the early part of this year.

Overall, the City has seen over 300 structures demolished over the last 90 days. Dividing the entire City into seven zones during the drive, the BBMP has reclaimed this land only to widen and build new stormwater drains.

“The area will not to be used for anything else. We are only going to restructure the drains,” assured a Palike official.

50 shops razed
Continuing its anti-encroachment drive, the BBMP razed at least 50 shops at Austin Town on Wednesday. The drive started at about 8 am with BBMP’s anti-encroachment squad at the spot, along with a posse of policemen. As anticipated by the BBMP officials, there was a protest by the shopkeepers against the drive.

The BBMP officials had a tough time in pacifying the agitating crowd who were shouting slogans and were restricting them from executing their task.

Normalcy returned after the arrival of Shanthinagar MLA N A Harris and former minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan. However, policemen remained there till late Wednesday night.

The shopkeepers alleged that there is no proper policy in the Government for the poor to have shops in prime areas and lead a normal life. “It seems we poor are never a priority for any Government,” said Chand Pasha.

The BBMP sources said the drive against shops on footpath would continue across Bangalore.