Fresh attempt to grab Chikka Kallasandra lake land

Fresh attempts are being made to grab the Chikka Kallasandra lake land at Padmanabhanagar in Bengaluru south taluk barely two months after the demolition of illegal structures on the lake land.

Some individuals in an apparent bid to encroach upon the lake land, have put up barbed wire inside the fence erected by the BBMP in the last two days. The extent of fresh encroachment is said to be close to four acres. The lake in Survey Number 76 of Chikka Kallasandra village is spread in 12 acres and 26 guntas and the entire portion was encroached upon. About one-and-half months ago, the BBMP had demolished many illegal structures in the middle of the lake and recovered six acres and 20 guntas of land. The fresh encroachment of about four acres is in the reclaimed land. The BBMP, which is the custodian of the lake, has lodged an online complaint with the Subramanyapura police station in this regard on Wednesday afternoon.

When contacted, the Bengaluru South officials expressed their ignorance about the fresh developments. Assistant Commissioner L C Nagaraj said he was not aware of any encroachment but would clear the encroachment of lake land, if any.

“We had put so much of efforts to clear encroachment from the lake land, which we will not like to go waste. Tomorrow, we will take appropriate measures so that no one could look at the government land,” said Nagaraj. A senior officer in the revenue department put the blame on the BBMP. “It is the Palike's duty to protect its property. Once we evicted encroachment, they should have made sure that no one encroaches it,” said the officer.