After years of allowing traffic congestion due to illegal basement shops meant for parking, the BBMP is finally implementing the law that is around for decades now due to a recent order by the Karnataka High Court. This legal intervention prompted BBMP Commissioner Manjunatha Prasad to instruct all the zonal joint commissioners to implement the court verdict.
Two weeks ago, the HSR BBMP officials issued notices to over 70 basement shops on all the main roads. And last night, the basement shops on one side of 27th Main in Sector 1 and 2 were shutdown – nearly 20 of them and counting. The onus is now on the landlords to demolish the shops and make way for parking. “We locked some of the shops ourselves while the others were locked by the shopkeepers themselves,” said Vinodh GM, health inspector, BBMP.
This drive will go on until all the basement shops are replaced with parking lots. Says Dr A Soujanya, Joint Commissioner, BBMP (Bommanahalli): “Only one third of the citizens are aware of this illegality. The tenants are the ones who are hit now. The next one month will be devoted to this operation.”
Yesterday, the BBMP shutdown shops on one side of 27th Main. Today, they will do the other side and move on to the other roads. For every zone, like Bommanahalli, there is a nodal officer who is overseeing this operation. A time table is plotted out for everybody who is part of this shutdown drive, including the police, health inspectors and engineers.
