Illegal structures a threat to Thyagarajnagar residents
NOC was not obtained from the Fire department: Deputy Director.
Bengaluru: On November 10 evening a noise echoed the narrow lanes of Thyagarajnagar and many presumed to be that of a Diwali cracker. However, the crackling sound was actually that of a collapsing five-storey building.
In the same locality, Prashant Rao, a local resident and an activist has been tirelessly fighting against a six-storied building constructed by one H.R. Sudheer, allegedly in violation of building bye-laws.
“The tenets of building byelaws are made to protect the Laws of Nature for only protecting mother earth. Setback and Open Space are made to support the cause of right to clean environment. The fire report prepared by Karnataka Fire and Emergency Services in 2015 clearly stated that the zoning violation does exist in the illegal property of Sudheer,” Rao pointed out.
He has been protesting against the illegal construction of the building next to his house.
The Fire Department in a letter signed by the Deputy Director, a copy of which is with Deccan Chronicle, clearly states that No Objection Certificate (NOC) was not obtained from the department for the building construction. It further states that no zoning regulation was complied with.
“If the building meets the same fate of the one that crashed down on November 10, my house and the lives of my family members will be at risk. Now the floors have gone up to 10 and though there was an order for the demolition of the building by the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal (KAT), the accused has maintained that he has complied with all the laws and so the case is delayed,” Mr Rao added.
It has been two years since the case is pending and Rao regularly protests outside the BBMP office. Meanwhile, the building dwellers have been accused of parking vehicles on the Storm Water Drain and on the footpath leaving little space for pedestrians. We could not solicit response from Sudheer.