BBMP officials demolish sheds on encroached land

Bengaluru: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) authorities demolished sheds and houses on a site located at Devarabeesanahalli on Saturday.

The residents complained that they were not provided any prior notice before were demolished. They said they were given only half an hour to pack their belongings and vacate the place.

A majority of the people who were living in the tin sheds on the site were migrants from other States. They were working as daily wage labourers, domestic help or housekeeping staff. Those whose sheds were pulled down said they had nowhere else to go.

Ameen Hussain, a housekeeping staff at an IT park who was living with four of his family members in a shed, said he was at work when BBMP officials demolished his house. “By the time I rushed to the spot, I saw my house had been pulled down. All my belongings were damaged,” he said.

The police were present at the spot, he said.

BBMP officials said around 200 of the 300 sheds were pulled down on Saturday. The remaining ones would be demolished on Sunday, they said.

However the BBMP officials claimed that, a portion of the 2.5 acres of private land was “encroached upon” by these people. “Their numbers were going up every day. After giving them enough warnings, we demolished their houses,”