Bengaluru:
Bad planning and lack of official responsibility have once again taken their toll in Bengaluru. A demolition drive around Banaswadi Lake in the city has the worthwhile aim of removing encroachments and restoring the lake bed - but paying the price are residents who say they were allowed to build and live here for years. This was the same thing that happened near Puttenhalli Lake in the city just last month.
Distraught residents who lived near Banaswadi Lake in Bengaluru are unable to come to terms with the loss of the place they called home. One woman, Savitha, had many questions.
"Yes it may be illegal but who gave the permission to build here? Did we come overnight? We are here for the past 30 years. Government had sanctioned us everything, government has given us registration," she shouted angrily.
Even a government approved Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) layout is thought to have encroached on the lake bed. But that is safe according to Bengaluru's minister-in-charge Ramalinga Reddy.
"The government has given to BDA - it is not the fault of BDA. Encroachment is different, allotment is different," he said.
The minister agreed that many house owners did not know their homes were illegal.
"People have been cheated - we have to take against those who sold lands to people. It is the fault of the (government) officers who were working at that time. Definitely we have to take action against them," he told NDTV.