NICE face-off with locals

NICE face-off with locals
Residents of Bagegowda Layout near the ring road stage sit-in against land acquisition
BANGALORE MIRROR BUREAU


Entrepreneur Ashok Kheny is once again in the news, and for the wrong reasons. A day after the Karnataka High Court asked the Lok Ayukta to look into the allegations made by JDS honcho H D Deve Gowda against the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project that is being executed by Kheny’s company, Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE), residents of a locality near the ring road took to the streets to protest against the land acquisition in the area by the company.
According to the police, on Tuesday morning two bulldozers had gone to Bagegowda Layout to demolish some houses for the purpose of road widening. Shocked by the sudden development, around 100 residents staged a sit-in on the road. The situation turned tense in the wake of heated arguments between the residents and NICE officials.
The residents said they had been residing there for over 25 years and would move only if they were provided with equivalent facilities in another place. They threatened to commit suicide if they were evicted forcibly. A police team was rushed to the spot and managed to calm tempers.