Congestion is going to continue on 24th Main Road for the next fortnight as the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is laying a pipeline from Lotus Hospital to KPTCL junction.
While the pipeline is now laid from Lotus Hospital to KPTCL junction, the levelling of the road is only pending now. BWSSB officials informed us that the asphalting work of the dug up stretch will take up two weeks to complete.
What is throwing a spanner in the works are the rains. The work was supposed to have finished by now but for the rain gods. Expect traffic jams during peak hours, particularly in front of Purva Fairmont on 24th Main and at the KPTCL junction. It’s best to avoid that area between 6pm and 9pm as we come across jams around this time.
In the last few months, there is some tussle between the Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC) and the garbage contractors. KCDC is refusing to take leachette alongwith the garbage that is given to it. It’s contention is that it is commercial waste being given to them when the truth, according to BBMP officials, is that it is very much residential waste. KCDC still wants the contractors to reduce the leachette at source before handing over the wet waste to them. However, the garbage contractors feel that it’s practically impossible to do so, particularly when it rains.
“Since the rains are here; the leachette is more due to the water percolating into the waste bins kept outside for collection,” said one BBMP official. “We have been convincing the KCDC officials that it is indeed residential waste and leachette is part and parcel of it.”
Earlier, lorries used to deposit waste at KCDC. Now, that process is streamlined to avoid any outside waste from entering the premises. Only domestic vehicles are now being used to usher in more transparency and accountability.
In addition, one tonne of daily waste is being composted by the lane composters installed at ten locations across HSR Layout and at the Swachagraha Kalika Kendra. That’s equivalent to composting wet waste from over 200 households. In addition, several residents have opted for home composting, further reducing the waste generation from HSR Layout.
The garbage contractors feel that some days, KCDC accepts the waste and on other days, it rejects or raises doubts. “There is no end to their suspicions. When we do really good work, they suspect our motives, and when others do really bad work, they think it’s allright,” said one garbage supervisor.
For now, the intake at KCDC has also come down from 150 tonnes to 60 tonnes due to mounting pressure from the public and the elected representatives. Wet waste is only collected from all the wards of Bommanahalli assembly constituency and two wards of BTM Layout constituency.
According to BBMP officials, the waste from seven wards of South Bangalore constituency is sent to another composting plant in Chikkanagamangala that processes 100-150 tonnes of waste every day. For all these reasons, the situation at KCDC has stabilised now. “We have no problems with KCDC after holding a few talks on this matter,” said one garbage supevisor. “However, the KCDC has not stopped questioning us even if there is a little more leachette than usual. We have to keep telling them that it’s the rains.”
Following the statement to us by BBMP Commissioner Manjunatha Prasad that the basement shops will be shutdown after May 23, it is now learnt that the BBMP is getting ready for this massive operation. As it requires a systematic way of conducting the operation without fear or favour, there needs to be some amount of planning. For this project, political will is not an issue as the action is ordered by the Karnataka High Court.
Enough time has already been given – more than three months – for all the shops to relocate from the basements. Ofcourse, there are many new shops coming up in the basements as the landlords are openly sceptical about BBMP’s real motives. However, they fail to see that they are violating a 1976 law. The real sufferers will be all those new tenants in basements, and here is where their ignorance will lead to financial losses.
Speaking to Residents Watch, Dr A Soujanya, Joint Commissioner, Bommanahalli, said: “We will begin the basement shutdowns soon. We have just resumed our work after the elections. We will have a meeting, prepare the time table and chalk out our next steps.”
It sure seems like the thieves of two wheelers appear to be quite busy on weekends in HSR Layout. Take the last fortnight for example. In the space of three days, three different bike thefts occurred across HSR Layout. In an earlier incident that occurred in Sector 3, the thief (only his back is towards the CCTV) was seen pushing the bike away from the parked area in front of Subramanya temple on 18th Cross. The bike happened to be that of the priest. This could well be the modus operandi of all the thefts that happened last fortnight as well.
Twenty-six-year-old Darshan, a resident of Electronic City, works at the Idea store as a manager in Sector 1, HSR Layout. On May 17, at around 10am, he had parked his Hero Glamour (KA51EW2878) in front of the store. However, at 5pm, the bike was nowhere to be seen.
Thirty-year-old PR Harish, a resident of Sector 6, parked his Royal Enfield Classic 350 (TS08FW2998) in front of his house at around 11.30pm. At around 1am, when he woke up, he realised that the bike was missing from its designated spot. Strangely, the FIR on the theft was registered three days later on May 22.
INCIDENT 3 Sunday, MAY 19, 2019 Time of theft: 5pm-8.30pm Location: In front of Third Wave Coffee Roasters, 14th Main, Sector 7, HSR Layout
Twenty-five-year-old engineer Sharath Oommen parked his Honda Activa (KA51ED5995) at 5pm in front of the Coffee Roaster outlet at 5pm only to find it missing at 8.30pm when he returned. After a frantic search and asking around for its whereabouts, this resident of Hosapalya in HSR extension realised that it was stolen. The very next day, a police complaint of theft was registered by the HSR cops.
The alleged thief on the blue bikeThe alleged thief with a pillion rider
On May 24, at around 12.15pm, a house was burgled in Sector 1, HSR Layout. Gold worth Rs 2 lakh was stolen. The thief was allegedly caught on CCTV, wearing a black tee and blue jeans while riding a blue bike.
According to the FIR lodged at the HSR Layout police station, resident Manjeet Kakoti (30) of 14th Cross, 21st A Main, found his first floor house burgled between 12.15pm and 12.45pm when nobody was at home. The items stolen included Rs 15,000 cash, three gold chains, two pairs of gold earrings, two gold finger rings, one gold locket and one gold coin.
When Manjeet checked the CCTV footage of his neighbours, he was able to capture the thief’s photograph. Only, the number plate was not visible. He also enquired with a paan shop vendor nearby who was able to recognise the alleged thief from the photo. “He said that this person was coming to his shop for the last four days between 12pm and 1pm. He used to order a cigarette and tea, and then would give a missed call. One more person would arrive soon after, and both would have tea before they departed.”
In the CCTV footage from Pratham Motors on 17th Cross, Manjeet found the thief on the blue bike surveying the area between 11.45am and 12.15pm. Manjeet also checked the CCTV footage of the other neighbours and found that there was another person in a yellow tshirt riding pillion with him. “By the time, he came to my house, the pillion rider was missing,” says Manjeet.
What puzzles Manjeet further is that when he and his family had gone out of town for four days, no theft had taken place. However, when his wife had just ordered for a cab at 12pm to pick up their three-year-old son from school, and came home by 12.30pm, the thieves had broken the lock on his main door and stolen the gold jewellery. Interestingly, all the silver and electronic items were left intact. Hie iphone, laptop and a costly DSLR professional camera were untouched. “The cops say that this is not the work of a gang, but someone who closely knows me,” says Manjeet.
The HSR police have registered a case of theft (IPC 380) and house-breaking (IPC 454), and are investigating.
A scary incident occurred recently to a woman software engineer who was kidnapped in the afternoon near Silk Board.
On Monday, April 1, 2019, around 1.45pm, 24-year-old Sushmita Dixit was kidnapped by five people travelling in a car near Vishal Mega Mart on Hosur Road near Central Silk Board.
Employed with Accenture, she had a job interview at Capgemini. Her father dropped her at Silk Board from where she took an Ola cab at 11am. When she reached Capgemini, she was told that the interview was postponed to the next day. She took an auto and got down at Silk Board. That was around 1.45pm.
Suddenly, she felt something hurting her neck. Before she could realise what was happening, some strangers had dragged her into a stationary car. By the time she gathered herself, she was seated in the car’s backseat, and was being told by one stranger that she should procure a few things from Anand Emmanuel, her office colleague at Accenture, namely some documents relating to a few drugs, web camera, and fingerprint scanner. They kept taking her around the city while threatening her with dire consequences if she does not agree to do their bidding. She lost consciousness soon after.
When she woke up at 9.30pm, she was lyding down on the roadside in front of Nandi Grand near Hoskote. Passersby took her in an ambulance to the Silicon City hospital in Hoskote where she was treated. In the car, there were five people, including the driver.
Though the incident occurred on April 1, the police complaint was filed at the HSR Layout police station only on May 17, 2019. The cops have filed several charges against the culprits for criminal intimidation, intentional insult, kidnapping and causing hurt.
With the ring road traffic using HSR Layout as a transit route, many accidents are taking place in HSR Layout. The area around Freedom International School, Greens Bar, Sweet Chariot, Mantri Apt and Coffee Day are the latest accident hotspots where severe injuries have taken place. Here is a rundown of each of the incidents where the damages were grievous.
LOCATION: In front of Cafe Coffee Day, near petrol bunk, 19th Main, HSR Layout
On February 7, 2019, 18-year-old Evaditya Singh, a resident of AECS Layout, was hit by a 42-year-old lorry driver at around 8am. At the time, Evaditya had rented a snooty pep and was riding from Agara towards Banashankari. In the same direction, a lorry driver rode negligently and came to a halt right next to the rider near the 19th Main Road-Outer Ring Road junction. And then suddenly, when the vehicles were proceeding to cross the junction, the lorry driver swerved to the left, hitting the rider, who fell and broke his hip bone. He was rushed to Sakra hospital for treatment. The lorry driver is booked for rash driving (279) and for causing grievous injury (338).
LOCATION: Near Freedom International School, 14th Main junction, Outer Ring Road
Hemanth, a 24-year-old rider of Honda Activa was hit by Srinath Elikod, a rider of Pulsar on February 20 at around 4pm.
He was on his lab collection drive from Outer Ring Road towards Greenview Hospital. When he was nearing 14th Main Road junction near Freedom International School, a rider on a Bajaj Pulsar bumped him from behind while allegedly driving rashly on the road. The result was that Hemanth fell on the road along with the bike, badly injuring his right shoulder. The Pulsar driver took the victim to the hospital for prompt treatment. The cops have registered a case of rash driving under IPC 279 and causing grievous hurt (338).
LOCATION: In front of Greens Bar & Restaurant, Agara down ramp
On February 17, at around 10.40pm, 35-year-old pedestrian L Seetharamaiah was hit by the rider of a Bajaj Avenger. He was immediately taken to the nearby Columbia Asia hospital for immediate treatment. He was not able to speak properly after the accident. The eye witnesses had to inform the victim’s elder brother L Ramakrishna about what happened. Apparently, Seetharamaiah was trying to cross the road in front of Greens Bar towards the military camp when a vehicle coming from the side of Agara and moving towards Iblur hit him while driving rashly. The victim suffered injuries on his head, both the legs, and back. The cops have registered a case of rash driving under IPC 279 and causing grievous hurt (338). For not attending to the victim, the motorcyclist whose face and vehicle registration number was captured by a nearby CCTV camera is charged with punishment that could extend by up to three months.
LOCATION: 5th Main, near Vasudev Adigas
Both the rider and passenger on a two wheeler were injured on February 21, 2019 when they were travelling at around 9.15am on their TVS bike. They were moving from Mangammanapalya towards Sweet Chariot near 5th Main junction when a car coming from Vasudev Adigas hit them on the frontside. Both the riders suffered a broken leg. The car driver rushed them to the hospital by arranging an ambulance that took them to the nearby NH Narayana hospital. The rash car driver was identified as Vivekananda Shanmugham, a resident of Doddanekkundi. The cops have registered a case of rash driving under IPC 279 and causing grievous hurt (338).
LOCATION: Iblur Park, Outer Ring Road
On Sunday, February 17, 2019, a 25-year-old two-wheeler rider was hit by a cab at around 7.25am. Virupaksha was grievously hurt when 27-year-old Maruthi Kumar hit him near the BMTC bus depot without giving any forewarning that he was moving his stationery vehicle to the right and proceeding towards Sarjapur Road. The motorcycle was hit on the left, leading to the rider suffering grievous injury to the head, and unable to speak. With the help of the passersby, traffic constable Mohan K rushed the victim in an autorickshaw to the nearby Columbia Asia hospital. The cops have registered a case of rash driving under IPC 279 and causing grievous hurt (338).
LOCATION: Mantri Sarovar Apt, Sector 1
On February 14, at around 10pm, 23-year-old Shivanna was grievously injured when he was hit by a motorcyclist. The incident occurred when he was travelling from Silk Board junction towards Outer Ring Road near Muneshwara temple in HSR Layout. Near Mantri Sarovar apartment, the accident occurred when Shivanna was taking a turn to the right by another motorcyclist Rohith who was coming from the same side. Rohith took the victim to Greenview hospital. Later, he was shifted to two other hospitals before coming being sent to Nimhans hospital for treatment. The cops have registered a case of rash driving under IPC 279 and causing grievous hurt (338).
Location: Bellandur Bus stop, ORR
On February 17, at around 5pm, 30-year-old Manjusha R riding a Honda scooter was hit fatally by Rajiv Kumar (40), the driver of a Maruti Ertiga. The incident occurred when a BMTC bus slowed down in front of Golden Apartment near the Bellandur bus stand. The driver of Maruti Swift behind the bus also slowed down. Manjusha following behind the Swift slowed down as well. However, the Ertiga car rashly driven by Rajiv Kumar hit Manjusha as he was not able to control his speeding vehicle. This resulted in her death on the way to Sakra hospital. The cops have registered a case of causing death by negligence, indulging in rash driving, and imprisonment of upto three months.
A resident has complained that he was defrauded of Rs 50 lakh advance on a fake site he finalised for Rs 3.6 crore.
The alleged fraud took place between February 2 and March 13, 2019. Politician R Chandrashekhar, a 46-year-old resident of Electronic City has alleged that he was cheated by Lakshmipathi T (30) and Sebastine (34).
Chandrashekhar, a member of the Konappana Agrahara village panchayat, was doing business in partnership with Suryanarayana. Chandrashekhar’s friend Sanjay Goyal introduced him to Sebastian who operated a real estate firm near Adigas restaurant on 5th Main in Sector 6, HSR Layout. Sebastian introduced Chandrashekhar to Lakshmipathi who claimed to have 2.1 acres of land in Doddanagamangala worth Rs 3.6 crore.
Towards this purchase, Chandrashekhar paid Rs 50 lakh advance in Sebastian’s office in HSR on March 13, 2019 and got Lakshmipathi’s signature on the site documents. However, when Chandrashekhar visited the site, he was told that the site belonged to somebody else and that Lakshmipathy was not the real landlord.
When Chandrashekhar asked for his money to be returned, both Lakshmipathy and Sebastian are alleged to have refused to pay up and in addition threaten him with dire consequences. The HSR cops have registered the case under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including cheating (420) amd criminal intimidation (506).
Thieves don’t leave any house unburgled, particularly when the tenant is far away from home. On April 21, 2019, Brigadier (retired) RS Murthy left for Vietnam with his wife. On May 15, 2019, around 5.15pm, Murthy’s security guard Bharat noticed that the back door was broken into.
The guard reported the incident to Murthy’s nephew Sanjeev Balakrishnan who stays in HSR Layout. Upon inspection, Sanjeev found that the house was ransacked as the thieves failed to find what they were looking for: jewellery and cash. They avoided the electronic items and took away all the taps and kitchen fittings. There was water all over the place. It was an act of frustration, according to Sanjeev.
The theft despite having informed the cops in advance. The police officials are asked to nab the people behind the theft and increase surveillance around 24th Main where the house stands. The HSR police have filed a case of house-breaking and theft, and are investigating.
Murthy is a prominent civic activist of HSR Layout. He was the co-founder of the 17-year-old Sector 2 Residents Welfare Association and also served as its president for some time.
In a damning case of abject negligence, a restaurant in HSR Layout was fined Rs 50,000 for dumping wet waste into the stormwater drain.
The promoters of the The Paratha Company were made to cough up the hefty fine as it was also a repeat offence, according to the civic officials. However, this time they had the proof to nail them. The restaurant was found guilty of dumping the waste in the stormwater drain behind the Indian Oil petrol bunk and near the Swachagraha Kalika Kendra.
The culprits were caught as they found the company’s address in the discards with the help of active residents. When the BBMP health inspector Vinodh GM visited the restaurant, he found more violations that attracted the hefty penalty.
“There were cockroaches everywhere, including the grinder, and the disposables were in a pathetic condition,” says resident activist Dr Shanthi Tummala. “Such unhygienic conditions should make any person stop ordering food online. In addition, they had no licence to operate the restaurant and also had their outlet filled with banned disposable items.”
All the grace time to basement shop owners is about to get over. After the results of the general elections are out on May 23, the basement shop demolitions will resume.
Talking to Residents Watch, BBMP Commissioner Manjunatha Prasad said, “We have shutdown many basement shops in Bengaluru and will continue our drive after the elections results are out.”
HSR BBMP officials echoed the same facts and said that the elections had put a spanner in the works. In addition, the shopkeepers had asked for more time to look for alternative places. When the BBMP announced that grace time was being given for the shopkeepers to shift, many assumed that the pause was permanent and have still not shifted. What’s more, many new basement shops have come up in HSR Layout. All such new establishments who violated the law will incur the most losses as all their fresh investments will come to nought.
BBMP has decided not to issue any notices before the shutdowns and demolitions. Since the parking areas are only meant for parking and no commercial activity is permitted in building basements, any construction for any other purpose is illegal, according to the Karnataka Municipal Act of 1976.
However, the lax implementation of this four-decade-old rule prompted the Karnataka High Court to come down heavily on the BBMP, which has prompted the civic agency to act. If the BBMP does not implement the rule due to the powers-that-be, it could land in serious trouble. Therefore, no matter who owns or runs a commercial establishment in a building basement, they will have to bow down before the law.
Some months ago, we came across a shed that was coming up in Sector 3 on 17th Main-19th Cross. When we enquired, the workers said a call centre was coming up. We were aghast. How can an office exist on a narrow road in a residential area? Later, we were told that a car washing shed was coming up, and it did come up despite our complaints to everyone at BBMP.
However, when the time for permissions came, the BBMP officials rejected the commercial proposition of having a car washing shed. “We clearly said that no commercial activity was possible, despite them getting letters from many people. In the meanwhile, the landlord changed and he had the shed demolished.”
The self-demolition happened around Karnataka election time. This clearly shows that when residents and the press highlight the irregularities, the authorities are duty bound to abide by the protests. However, we do request the authorities to ensure that they just follow the rulebook to save themselves a major penalty and embarassment in the future.
Whenever you spot such sheds coming up in residential areas, immediately alert the BBMP officials and the cops. Either of them can take action. Calling 100 is best. Don’t be afraid of the cops. They are supposed to guard us against the lawbreakers. Don’t hesitate. Each one of us can make a difference. If you think the other person will complain and you can rest easy, imagine what will happen if everyone thinks the same way? Utter chaos.
