As BBMP cuts through rocks, monastery bears the brunt

Bengaluru: Blasting for the multi level underground basement parking facility that the BBMP is building near the old Bangalore Central Jail is reportedly damaging the structure of the Mahabodhi Monastic Institute run by the Mahabodhi Society nearby.

Mr Buddhadatta Bhante, principal of the institute, says it has also not been able to carry on with its classes, meditation and prayers for the past six months owing to the  blasting of  rocks by the BBMP at the project site.

"Our buildings have already developed cracks and some of our window panes and photo frames were broken due to the tremors from the blasting.  We are not able to take the loud noise  and have brought this to the attention of BBMP Commissioner, Manjunath Prasad through a letter in August. But nothing has been done," he laments, insisting that if there is any more damage to the institute’s buildings, the BBMP contractors and the state government must be held responsible.

Meanwhile, pointing out that many freedom fighters like Gandhian, H S Doreswamy were lodged at the Bangalore Central Prison in the past, Mr Sharath Kumar K P, who has his office on Kalidasa Road, Gandhinagar, regrets that the BBMP’s contractors don’t seem to be aware of the historic value of the place and are resorting to blasting that could damage it to speed up their work.

But while admitting that it is doing controlled blasting at the site, Mr K T Nagaraj, Chief Engineer (Projects) of the BBMP,  denies it is causing any damage to nearby buildings. The BBMP had a while ago promised  not to use controlled blasting at the project site as it was close to the old Bangalore Central Jail and  rely only on diamond cutting technology to drill through the bedrock.But now its engineers are singing  a different tune.  "With controlled blasting, no inconvenience is caused," Mr Nagaraj argued, adding, "As the dimension of the rock is huge we will need time till June next to complete the project." Interestingly, the white granite found at the site, which is delaying the project, could be a blessing in disguise for the cash strapped civic agency, which reportedly hopes to sell it and earn some revenue to help fund the project.