Empty sites in Yelahanka New Town are turning into garbage dump yards. Originally envisaged as a satellite township for Bangalore, the town is now part of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
It is a swanky middle-class residential locality.
Yelahanka New Town boasts of nearly 70 per cent occupancy, say BBMP officials.
But the vacant plots here have turned a bane to the residents of the locality. Most of the empty plots in the area have turned into dump yards, which breed mosquitoes in the area, complain residents.
Sangunni of the Citizens’ Forum, Yelahanka New Town, said there was an unchecked growth of shrubs in these plots.
“Mosquito menace in the area is unbearable and any amount of fumigation and spraying by the BBMP is of little use. Not just mosquitoes, we also have a persistent problem of snakes in the area,” he said.
Another resident said many complaints to the BBMP had fallen on deaf ears.
The BBMP officials had asked him to take photographs of the site to provide proof so they could levy fine on site owners.
He said that in some cases, taking photographs had led to bitter tiffs with the plot owners and neighbours.
“The locality is nearly 19 km away from the central part of the city. Many people bought sites in the area as an investment and have left them vacant for decades. In some cases, the owners are abroad and the sites are left without caretakers,” said S.D. Sridhar, a resident of the area.
Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare U.T. Khader had recently instructed the BBMP Health Department to clear out all the empty plots in the city, to prevent the spread of communicable diseases.
