Members of the Pattandur Agrahara Lake met with officials of the BBMP and the BDA on Saturday demanding a stop to indiscriminate dumping of construction debris on the lake bed and to the development of a road there.
Residents in Kadugodi ward have for long been up in arms over this issue. They claim that the “illegal and unscientific” road being developed on the lake bed is in violation of the rules of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on buffer zones.
Sandeep Anirudhan from the Save Pattandur Agrahara Lake group said the lake, which is under BDA control, has neither been marked nor fenced despite repeated appeals. He accused the BDA of failing to clear encroachments.
“The road just cuts across the lake. It is being constructed by the BBMP to connect ECC Road and Athashri Road with Whitefield Main Road and finds no mention in the proposed Revised Master Plan 2031,” said Mr. Anirudhan.
The group has submitted a memorandum demanding that the road construction be stopped immediately, the debris be cleared, and the lake and its catchment and wetlands be rejuvenated.
Mr. Prasad said he has directed officials of Mahadevapura zone to stop the work immediately and check the revenue records to ascertain whether the road alignment is outside the lake, within the lake, or in the buffer zone. “The work will be taken up only after we are sure that the NGT order is not being violated,” he said.
However, residents claimed that work on the road continued till late evening. “We have now decided to file a complaint with the Lokayukta and approach the courts,” said Mr. Anirudhan.
