JOIN USProtest against HAL 2nd Stage commercialisation today
The residents of HAL 2nd Stage will take to the streets on Saturday to protest against what they call unchecked commercialisation of their area.
Having grown weary of the noise from the pubs and bars, garbage dumping, overflowing sewage and illegal parking, the residents will protest at 12th Main, HAL II Stage at 8 pm on Saturday.
Aruna Newton, president of the HAL 2nd Stage Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA) said that they had approached the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) authorities in the past, but to no avail.
They filed more than 280 Right To Information (RTI) applications with the BBMP and the Bangalore Development Aurthority (BDA) to get information on the trade licences and permissions that the individual establishments had obtained.
“The BDA did not have any records on whether any of the establishments had taken permission to convert the residential area into a commercial outlet. They told us probably the BBMP had given the permission,” she said.
The BBMP too did not reply to their RTI applications on whether the commercial establishments had obtained trade licences. The BBMP had recently issued a notification threatening action against commercial establishments operating in residential areas, she said.
Newton, however, says that the implementation has been poor in the area. “It has become a living hell here. It used to be a peaceful neighbourhood once but now we cannot go out for a walk. It has become a hub for crime, drugs and prostitution,” Newton said.
The residents want to protest regularly and hope that residents in other parts of the city will also raise the demand for zoning of areas and their strict implementation.