Credit: DH photo
Union Minister and Bengaluru North MP Shobha Karandlaje visited Ammanikere village in Hebbal on Saturday.
The minister claimed that the area currently resembles ‘Mini Bangladesh’ and the visit was an “eye-opener”, she told DH.
After the state government reduced BMRCL’s land requirement for the Namma Metro rail project in Hebbal from 45 acres to nine acres, Karandlaje has been urging Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to hand over the entire 45 acres of land in the area to BMRCL for building a multi-modal hub and a BMTC bus depot.
“I visited the spot to check what plans the government has for this area and I was shocked to see what I found. Hundreds of illegal migrants have taken over the area. They all have forged government identity cards and claim to be from Nadia, a border district in West Bengal. These are Rohingyas,” she said.
The migrants are running a “scrap mafia” in the neighbourhood, she claimed.
“There are heaps and heaps of scrap everywhere you see. Not only are they occupying land illegally, but they are also running illegal businesses. Tonnes of plastic are being burned in the open. How have these gone unchecked? What are the police and BBMP doing? Is this why they’re not giving BMRCL the land?” she questioned.
She said she will write a letter regarding the same concerns to the city commissioner.