The encroachments on Sowlkere Lake, near Sarjapur Road, were cleared on Wednesday. Around 56 houses that encroached upon the lake bed were demolished and property worth Rs. 50 crore recovered by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
According to a press release, the extent of the lake is 61 acres 37 guntas. Over the past one and half years, around three acres and one gunta of the lake bed was encroached upon and houses built there. The local tahsildar had surveyed the lake and fixed the boundary. Though he issued notices to the encroachers to vacate the land, they paid no heed.
After the Commissioner directed the officials concerned to clear the encroachments, the BBMP officials with help of the police personnel from the Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force took up the demolition. The BBMP surveyed all the 55 lakes that come under it. Of the 150 acres of encroachment identified, it removed around 90 acres.
