BBMP tries to bring down one more slum

BBMP tries to bring down one more slum

Special Correspondent
Residents say they have ‘hakku patras’ given by the BBMP

They also have voter identity cards and ration cards

Bangalore: There seems to be no respite from slum demolitions in Bangalore, and those which have been identified by the Karnataka Slum Clearance Board too are not spared.

The latest instance is the effort by Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials to bring down houses at Basappanakatte in Rajagopalanagar in Peenya II Stage on Tuesday. Residents of the locality said that BBMP officials brought earthmovers and police and started mowing down houses in the morning without any notice.

The officials were forced to stop as the residents and community leaders got together and staged a protest. “By then four houses had already been mowed down,” said Chandramma. Gangappa said the residents had been living here for three to four decades and most have hakku patras given by the BBMP recognising their right over the land. Many of them have built Ashraya houses.

“The slum has water connection and roads and the residents have voter identity cards and ration cards,” he said. The officials did not pay any attention when residents tried to show these proofs of their valid claims to their homes, he said.

“The BBMP officials have told us that they will come back with earthmovers to bring down our houses after a week if we do not vacate by then,” said Ms. Chandramma.

She said that BBMP officials recently held a meeting assuring the residents, most of whom belong to Scheduled Castes, pucca houses under the 18 per cent reserved fund for SC/ST welfare.