Mayor orders removal of encroachments

Mayor orders removal of encroachments

The Hindu

Mumtaz Begum found as many as 250 illegal stalls in the City Market


BANGALORE: Mayor Mumtaz Begum came across a number of unauthorised stalls at the City Market during her visit there on Saturday.

The Mayor was astonished that as many as 250 stalls were illegal and no rent was being paid to the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP). The stalls included those selling vegetables and eatables, and all were found doing good business.

With many stalls encroaching upon the public place, the approach road to the market has become very narrow. The BMP had got a petrol pump relocated between the Kalasipalya main road and the private bus stand because of problems in the smooth flow of traffic. The area where the petrol pump stood is now occupied by small shopkeepers, all unauthorised. There are some "permanent structures" too.

The Mayor asked BMP officials to verify how many shops in the area had licences and ordered the closure of the others. "All encroachments should be removed and illegal eateries closed down," Ms. Begum told the officials.

The Mayor stopped her vehicle just before the flyover near Town Hall and found the approach road in a bad shape. The space below the flyover was found filled with garbage and malodorous. There was no protective fencing or grills to stop vandals from entering the area. The compound wall of Victoria Hospital in the area was also found littered.

Chamarajpet MLA Zameer Ahmed Khan told the Mayor that the BMP sanitation teams were not paying attention to the space below the flyover and that the place was hardly cleaned.

The Mayor told the Health Officer of the area that the space should not be an eyesore. She also asked the BMP engineer for the area whether the space could be used to grow plants.

At the other end of the flyover on Mysore Road, Ms. Begum found people dirtying the roadside and suggested that a public toilet be built there. BMP officers told her that the Karnataka Land Army had found that there was not enough space to construct a toilet there. The Mayor later went to Victoria Hospital where she found the footpaths outside encroached upon by petty shops and tea stalls. Some of the stalls had completely blocked pedestrian movement. She immediately ordered their removal, pending verification of the licences of the stalls. The MLA alleged that the stalls had come up with the connivance of some BMP officers and that action should be taken against them.

Ms. Begum told presspersons that she would send a detailed report to BMP Commissioner K. Jothiramalingam and direct him to act against errant officers.