BENGALURU:  The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) on Wednesday filed an affidavit with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in Chennai stating that it has not built any road through Bellandur Lake. This was in response to a complaint filed with the Tribunal by a resident, Harikrishna, accusing the authority of building a road through the lake.  

We filed an affidavit today (Wednesday) stating that BDA has never built a road through the lake. The BDA had only built a diversion canal as well as a bund in order to divert sewage downstream so that it does not enter the lake. It has been erroneously reported to the Tribunal by the owner of a local school that a road had been built by us.”

The desilting of the lake and the movement of trucks transporting silt require a pathway. “This is a temporary arrangement from our side only to facilitate completion of the desilting,” he said. RMN Infrastructure had been contracted with the job at a cost of Rs 100 crore, the official added.

Another official said BDA would take at least a year to complete the desilting work after which the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board will take up construction of the Sewage Treatment Plant so that the water is treated before it enters the lake.

Bellandur Lake is among the biggest lakes in the city covering 916 acres and 43 guntas. Data furnished by BDA officials reveals that 57.7% of the overall silt has been transported from the lake through tippers fixed with GPS. A total of 16.88 lakh cubic meters of silt have already been removed from the lake.

“We have stopped the desilting work here temporarily since July due to the rain,” the official added. BDA is carrying out desilting work at Varthur Lake too with 96% of the silt being removed.  

BENGALURU:  Several parts of the city received heavy rain on Monday night, exposing the city’s fragile infrastructure. The rain that lashed for more than an hour flooded many roads, making it difficult for vehicle users to wade through.

As it rained quite late in the night, there were no traffic jams reported. Underpasses at Anand Rao Circle, Okalipuram, Lingarajapuram and Shivananda Circle were flooded, while Commercial Street and Kamaraj Road had knee-deep water. As a precautionary measure, the traffic police barricaded the underpasses.

Water entered some houses in Kurubarahalli, while flooding was reported in Cooke Town and CK Garden area. Many residents complained of up to 1.5 feet of water inside their homes. The area is flooded as the Railways have blocked a stormwater drain, they said.

Purushottam (90), a retired undersecretary to the state government and a resident of the area, was livid that the authorities had not come to address their problems, though the ground floor of his house was flooded since late afternoon.

Railway ADRM Kusuma Hariprasad said she would look into the issue. Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who is also Bengaluru Development Minister, visited the BBMP control room around 11.30 pm and sought details from BBMP officials on rain damage, and flooding of roads and underpasses. He spoke directly to officials to know the situation and asked them about the immediate measures taken.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a thunderstorm warning for most parts of coastal and south interior Karnataka for the next two days. It also forecast heavy rainfall across the many parts of Karnataka for the next three days, including north interior Karnataka.

The department issued an ‘Orange’ alert for Kodagu district and a ‘Yellow’ alert for Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Chamarajanagar, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, Mandya, Mysuru and Shivamogga districts.  

IMD scientist A Prasad told TNIE that most parts of Karnataka are experiencing rain due to the formation of a trough from the Southeast Arabian Sea to the Kerala coast, covering south interior Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh up to West-central Bay of Bengal.  

He added that there is a deficit of 53 per cent rainfall in the state as a whole. The present rainfall will not cover the deficit.

BENGALURU:  The police have claimed to have solved the murder case of 43-year-old Prathima KS, senior geologist, with the arrest of her former driver.

The accused, identified as Kiran, 32, of Jamboo Savari Dinne at Konanakunte in the city, was arrested at the Male Mahadeshwara Hills on Sunday.

Investigations revealed that Kiran, who was sacked from job, murdered the officer as she did not pay heed to his repeated requests to reappoint him as her car driver.

Kiran was appointed as a driver on a contract basis by the Department of Mines and Geology eight years ago. He was Prathima’s driver and was reportedly sacked two months ago for misconduct. 

The police traced his phone call and managed to arrest him there. He was planning to go to Tamil Nadu, the police said.

Kiran was produced before the Second Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Court, which remanded him in police custody till November 15. The accused has a criminal history. A case of attempt to dacoity was registered against him by Konanakunte police in 2017.

Rahul Kumar Shahapurwad, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), told reporters that Kiran worked as Prathima’s driver for four years at the Bengaluru Urban office of the Mines and Geology Department near Vidhana Soudha. 

On learning that Kiran lost his job, his wife, who believed him to be a permanent government employee, reportedly left him.  Kiran’s father too works as a driver in the same department. Kiran confessed that 
he murdered Prathima as he was not reappointed as her driver, he said.

On Saturday, Kiran waited at Prathima’s house for her to return from office. When she arrived, Kiran appealed to her to reappoint him as her driver. When Prathima refused, Kiran strangled her with her veil. Later, he slit her throat with a knife from her kitchen. Before leaving home, Kiran latched the grill door, the officer said.

He visited Prathima’s house even on Friday, but could not meet her. He even tried to meet Prathima at her office. Kiran was reportedly involved in an accident while driving the office vehicle. He allegedly used to leak information about the raids planned by the department. When this matter was brought to the notice of the department, he was removed from job, the officer said.

The DCP said, “We are yet to recover the weapon used by Kiran to commit the murder. Kiran took away Rs 15,000 from Prathima’s purse and spent it.” Further investigations are on. Meanwhile, the last rites of Prathima were performed in Tirthahalli, Shivamogga district, on Monday.  

BENGALURU: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi targeted the Congress government in Karnataka while campaigning in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said that the former’s speeches are a “bundle of lies”.

Modi had claimed that the Congress had damaged Karnataka and that development had come to a standstill in the state. He also raised doubts about Siddaramaiah completing his tenure.  

“The BJP lost wherever PM Modi campaigned in Karnataka. The PM targeting the Karnataka government during his campaign in MP shows the BJP’s inefficiency. The party is yet to appoint the leader of opposition in Karnataka,” Siddaramaiah told reporters here. 

Reacting to the corruption allegations made by the PM on himself and his deputy DK Shivakumar, the CM said that there are allegations of 40% commission cut on the previous BJP government. “We are investigating the matter.  There are many probe agencies under the Union Government. Without proof, one should not make allegations,” the CM said.

Modi had claimed, “Wherever the Congress government is formed by mistake, a competition to loot the state between its chief minister and his deputy is taking place, and such news is coming regularly from Karnataka.”

“I never expected a statement like this from the PM. It does not befit him,” he said. On drought relief, the CM accused the Centre of meting out step-motherly treatment to the state. “They have not released any funds. The PM said that the Congress will be unable to implement the guarantees. But we proved him wrong,” Siddaramaiah added.