Around 25 families lost their shelter on Monday night after the wall of a construction site collapsed on their temporary housing sheds in Seegehalli ward in Mahadevapura zone. Most people in these families work as pourakarmikas for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and are immigrants from various parts of the State.
The pourakarmikas said repeated complaints to the authorities at the civic body about their housing situation have not yielded any results. “We have put up our sheds next to a multi-storey building construction site. On Monday, around 4.30 p.m., there was heavy rain and after some time, the compound wall collapsed on the sheds here,“ said Balaraju, who lives in one of the sheds.
He added that out of over 40 sheds at the site, around 20 to 25 had to be cleared immediately. “As they do not have any other options or anywhere else to go, those who lost houses are now accommodated inside the existing structures only. A senior BBMP official said that as most pourakarmikas come from other places, they are put up at private temporary shelters. Such problems exist in Yelahanka, Dasarahalli, and Mahadevapura zones,” the official added.
Members of the All-India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), Karnataka, said that houses have collapsed in several places across Mahadevapura where pourakarmikas live. “It is our long time demand to the BBMP that proper housing should be provided to pourakarmikas. This is not a one-day problem; such problems occur every time it rains,” said Maitreyi, a member of AICCTU, Karnataka.
Speaking about the issue at Seegahalli, R. Venkatachalapathi, Joint Commissioner, Mahadevapura zone, said “These people were living at a private space paying rent. After the incident, our team went and made arrangements for their safety. We will have further discussions and make proper housing arrangements for them”.
