Sprawling slum, a sea of mud, collapsed buildings

Sprawling slum, a sea of mud, collapsed buildings
Bengaluru,








Article Rank










[Click To Enlarge]
Homes that cave in, dilapidated flats, overflowing drains, roads that are a sea of mud and around 1,000 families living in tin sheet shed. A tsunami hit shelter? No. this is Ejipura EWS quarters. It’s real estate value today is over Rs 750 crore.

Every monsoon Ejipura is synonymous with floods that result in buildings collapsing and resulting in loss of life. The who’s who of politics make a beeline to this locality to show their concern. Year after year the situation remains unchanged.

To date, around 11 resi dents, including three children and four women, have died under the rubble. Today, all the 42 blocks have either been bulldozed or have crumbled. The BBMP has put up temporary sheds and have accommodated the victims as the residents refused to move out, afraid they would never get back their homes.

Apprehension, chaos, fear, official apathy, distress and sleepless nights rules Ejipura, which has swung back into focus of all the main players – the administration, politicians and middlemen - as news broke that Maverick Hold ings would handle the redevelopment project.

B.P. Pandey, president of the Women’s Block of Ejipura EWS Quarters’ Association, says: “The EWS housing project was an excellent initiative. But the BBMP messed it up right from the word go. The quality of construction was inferior, they didn’t plan sewage. To top it all, the contractors have used mud and ash and very little cement. Till today seven blocks have come down and today what remains is tin roofed sheds The BBMP has turned the whole place into a slum.” In a nutshell After the dissolution of the JD (S)-BJP government, Akruthi Nirman which enjoyed political clout with the Congress brought pressure from the Governor’s office to bag the project.

The BBMP on the other hand expressed helplessness saying the matter was in court and that it could consider it if the case is withdrawn.

Akruthi Nirman withdrew the case from the HC in May. The Governor’s office started pressuring BBMP to hand over the project as the case was withdrawn.

The BBMP said that the PPP project was controversial and that it would put the proposal through another round of scrutiny.

The BJP government arbitrarily awarded the project to Uday Garudachar, owner of Maverik Holdings & Investments Pvt Ltd., on Thursday.