PRODUCER’S ‘ROCK SHOW’

PRODUCER’S ‘ROCK SHOW’
Gulabi Talkiesproducer Basant Kumar Patil has been dumping boulders on a BBMP site meant for a park for the last six months.The civic body serves a notice on him, but he is yet to clear the mess.
MANASI PARESH KUMAR


Residents of the 3rd Sector, HSR Layout don’t know what to make of Basanth Kumar Patil’s latest production near their residences. The film producer, whose last movie ‘Gulabi Talkies’, won the national award for the ‘Best Kannada Movie’, is coming up with a super-speciality hospital in their area. But the real show is all about the huge boulders he is dumping on a BBMP site earmarked for a park for the last six months.
“Why go to Mahabaleshwar or Rock Garden of Chandigarh, you have a combination of both here,” says H M Javali, general secretary of the resident welfare association of the sector.
The park was handed over to the BBMP in Oct 2007 to be developed, which was approved three months ago. But despite a notice from the BBMP to clear the debris, Patil is yet to clear the mess.
Anand, superintendent (horticulture), Bommanhalli zone says the park can’t be developed till the debris is cleared. “We have been trying to sort out the issue amicably,” he said diplomatically.
However, sources in the horticulture department said they are helpless. “We can’t be forceful in this matter because he (Patil) is a man with immense influence,” they said.
BDA VS BBMP?
When questioned on whose authority was he using the site as a dumping ground, Patil had claimed he had permission from the BDA Commissioner. “We have not seen a single paper to that effect,” said R S Hiremutt, vice-chairman of the Federation of the HSR Layout Resident Welfare Associations. Besides the powers to grant permission lies with the BBMP or the BDA is fuzzy at best.
A thriving ‘business’ runs in the park. Stones dumped in the site are crushed there and then loaded onto the trucks for the market. “We get about Rs 4 for every stone that we crush,” say the labourers who work there. About five lorry loads of stones are transported every day.
Residents wonder why the BBMP has remained mum about a commercial venture in a public land. According to workers there, if they continue to remove stones at the same pace, it will take at least six months to clear the place.
CAVED-IN ROADS
The hospital coming up on a civic amenity site is meant to be a charitable hospital. When the construction of the hospital began, the builders hit a rocky terrain. To dig through it for a two-level basement, the builders allegedly used explosives to clear the rocks. “There are cracks in my house because of the constant blasting,” says A Rao, a resident.
Even parts of the road have caved in in some places because the top soil fell during the digging operation. The 22-feet roads have shrunk to barely ten feet, making commuting difficult for residents.
SCARY THOUGHT
But what is scaring them even more are the problems that are yet to arrive. With the approach roads leading to the hospital being narrow, the traffic movement and parking problems will be many. “I dread to think how the situation will get,” said Aditya Sinha, a techie who lives close to the construction.
When contacted about the complaints, Patil refused to answer them. Why are you bothered about this park when there are three more that need to be developed? First finish them. If you have any queries, talk to the departments concerned. I don’t have to answer you,” he said, before hanging up.