A tech park in east Bengaluru, which was inundated following heavy rainfall in the IT capital, has admitted to encroaching on stormwater drains, NDTV has reported.
The Bagmane World Technology Centre, developed by the city’s renowned developer Bagmane Group, is one of the 15 names that allegedly encroached on stormwater drains leading to flooding in the eastern parts of the city. The tech park includes biggies like Ericsson, Accenture, Boeing, Ernst and Young, and DELL.
Yes, we have covered the stormwater drain with slabs.GP Chakravarthi, General Manager, Bagmane tech park
However, Chakravarthi blamed the builder of the adjacent Purva Parkridge as the “main culprit.”
"We did that only to stop the back flow of water from Mahadevapura lake. Had we not done that, Bagmane would be flooded. The main culprit here is the Puravankara Purvaridge Villas. They have covered the stormwater drain," Chakravarthy said.
The uber-rich Purva Parkridge comprises 149 villas, of which, two – located across the Bagmane tech park’s boundary wall – were found to have encroached on 2.5 metres of the drains.
Bengaluru’s civic body BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) conducted spot surveys in the area on Wednesday, 14 September, and concluded that the builder Purvankara had built the villas illegally on top of the stormwater drains.
The BBMP had carried out a similar survey last month and had discovered encroachment then. However, the residents approached the court, complaining that the survey was conducted in their absence, and refuting charges of encroachment.
Executive Engineer Malathi R told NDTV, "Depending on the court's decision, the next course of action will be taken."
Wipro, Prestige, Columbia Asia Hospital, Divyashree Villas, among others are on a list of high-profile builders, tech parks and builders that have allegedly encroached and closed around 700 stormwater drains in Bengaluru that caused massive flooding, particularly the information technology corridor and several arterial roads, disrupting public life.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)