Representative image of Puttenahalli Lake in the southern part of Bengaluru.
Authorities in Bengaluru have begun a 10-day demolition drive to recover land allegedly encroached from the bed of the Puttenahalli Lake in the southern part of the city. The drive follows demolition notices that had been issued to a number of homes and apartment complexes in the area a month ago.
Environmentalists have welcomed the demolition drive, which began on Thursday, in a city that has seen many of its hundreds of water bodies turn into residential areas. This is a factor that is blamed for the flooding that the city suffers after rains. Even the city's main bus stand is built on what was once a tank.
"Why did they give us power and water? Nobody told us we should not build here," says Salamma, whose house near the lake has been demolished as part of the drive. "We have been living there for 30 years. My children could not take their exams yesterday, and I have had to send them to live with relatives," she adds.
Questions are now being raised over how buildings were allowed to come up in the first place, and supplied with water, sewerage lines and electricity. If followed to its logical end, the process could also mean trouble for officials in civic agencies who cleared the buildings.