The State BJP, which has woken up late to Bengaluru Urban District’s demolition drive of structures built illegally on lake beds, has decided to take up the cause of families by holding protests in the coming days.
Speaking at a press conference here on Monday, former Minister and BJP MLA, S. Suresh Kumar, challenged the government to demolish the State Congress office built on Miller Tank bed, Kempe Gowda bus-station on Dharmambudhi Tank, and the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board’s office on Saneguravanahalli tank in the city.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who holds the BDA portfolio, has “taken away the right to life of poor families” by demolishing their properties constructed about 20 to 30 years ago. The government had not taken any action on the reports submitted by retired IAS officer V. Balasubramanian and former MLA A.T. Ramaswamy on encroachment of government and lakebeds by land sharks, Mr. Kumar said. The government had permitted Mantri Developers to build a housing complex on Sankey Tank, he claimed. The poor and middle-class families had suffered owing to the “unholy nexus” between builders/developers and BDA/BBMP officials, Mr. Kumar said.
Jagadish Kumar, BJP MLA representing Hebbal constituency, challenged Mr. Siddaramaiah to demolish an ISRO building constructed on a lakebed in his constituency.
