KR Puram politics played out in House

The political slugfest at Krishnarajapuram found an echo in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike council meeting on Thursday when the areas’s BJP corporator K Poornima accused Congress MLA from KR Puram constituency Byrathi Basavaraju of allowing encroachment of footpaths.

Mayor B N Manjunath Reddy and BBMP Commissioner G Kumar Naik were taken by surprise when Poornima sought permission to build shops and bus shelters on pavements.

Poornima said, “There are many poor people who want shops. Allow them to construct shops on pavements.”

She said  a bus shelter and 13 shops under the sign  ‘APJ Abdul Kalam Vision 2020’ have come up on a footpath in Krishnarajapuram.

She said, “The Supreme Court guidelines clearly prohibit construction of even a bus shelter on the pavement as it encroaches on the rights of pedestrians. How were such shelters allowed to come up?”

She further sought to know whether any structure named after renowned persons like APJ Abdul Kalam can be demolished.

Submitting photographs of the encroachment to the Mayor and the Commissioner, she threatened to stage a demonstration if the structures were not removed.

The warning irked Congress corporators from KR Puram Assembly constituency who said they would call a Bengaluru Bandh if the demonstration was allowed.

The Mayor quickly intervened and admonished the Congress corporators for exceeding their limits. He then assured Poornima he would visit the spot with the Commissioner.