Palike razes houses for alternative access road

In the wake of a High Court direction on Monday asking it to provide an alternative access road to residents of three layouts near Domlur, the Palike carried out a demolition drive on Wednesday in Amarjyothi Layout — where scores of families have been living in a slum in 32 houses for past 40 years — to pave the way for the alternative road.

Justifying the demolition, Somashekar, Chief Engineer (East), said that of the 32 houses in the colony, only eight were razed, on compassionate grounds. “The eight houses razed were the ones coming in the way of the proposed alternative route for the layout residents,” he said.

The demolition drive, which began at 6.30 am, continued till late afternoon. The residents alleged that they were intimated of the impending demolition only on Tuesday night.
Prema, one of the displaced victims, said she and her children were fast asleep when the BBMP workers barged into their house and forced her family out.

“They took away all our belongings and threw them out. We were not even given time to pack up and leave,” she said. BBMP officials say the demolition drive was “imperative”, as it was the only route that could connect the Amarjyothi Layout with the Inner Ring Road.

The Armoured Service Corp had blocked the only available access road for the residents of Patel Krishnareddy Layout, Sharadamma Layout and Amarjyothi Layout, claiming ownership of the land. The High Court had, therefore, directed the BBMP to lay an alternative road in the area in 2006, for the convenience of residents.The proposed road will connect Domlur outer ring road to Suryanarayan temple.