United News of India (UNI) on Sunday temporarily halted its national news operations, including its Kannada news services, to protest the alleged threat by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to evict it from its present premises.
In a release, UNI bureau in-charge G.S. Ravishankar alleged that a top BBMP official had informed them that the agency would be evicted if it refused to vacate the premises on its own, on the grounds that the lease period on the land had ended.
Pointing out that the lease period had ended in 2013, Mr. Ravishankar said the BBMP had not responded to the UNI’s many requests for renewal since 2010. Instead, the BBMP officials started harassing local UNI staff by threatening eviction without giving a proper notice or any government order, he alleged.
