Shops razed on Tannery Road

690 structures to be demolished as part of road-widening work

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has planned to widen the 3.5-km stretch from 24 feet to 80 feet, between Tannery Road Circle to Nagavara Junction and link it to the Outer Ring Road. As stunned bystanders and shopkeepers watched, the BBMP razed its own complex that housed 13 shops.

People pleaded with the Palike officials to give more time, and to spare their shops on this narrow stretch. However, by evening, considerable headway was made, even as Palike officials tried to ‘convince’ people about the necessity of widening the road.

The BBMP officials, to a shopowner’s query on compensation, said that they can take the TDR being offered by the Government to part with their shop. “The work would have taken place now or 20 years down the line. Why don’t you part with it now for the benefit of the City?,” an official argued.

Giving up any hope of stalling the work, people went back hoping that the money provided will be sufficient for any other alternative. “Well, we are getting the TDR at least. We can part with the land if there is immediate relief,” said another shopkeeper who had also given up.

Shopkeepers consoled each other saying: “When they are giving money we can as well part with the shops. The Government is bigger than us.” According to the BBMP, the TDR rates are fixed at Rs 3,000 per square feet on Tannery Road. The Palike has currently received 193 applications for compensation from shopowners and residents.