In line with the ongoing anti-encroachment drive, she asked for a parallel investigation into how the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) permitted such encroachments in the first place. These encroachments covered the necessary storm water drains causing severe waterlogging post rainfall in the city. Without the permission of civic bodies, it wouldn't have been possible to construct them illegally in the city.
Also Read: Traffic, water shortages, now floods; is it the slow death of Bengaluru, India's tech hub?
"The question that begs to be answered is whether there will be a parallel investigation into how the BBMP and BDA gave permissions in the first place", she told PTI.
She also said that the anti-encroachment drive that was launched by the BMMP this week was a long overdue measure, that could have been done earlier as well. If the BBMP would have come into action on time, the city could have been saved from witnessing its worst waterlogging during this rainy season. As of now, the BBMP has deployed earth-movers to raze illegal structures.
"Moreover, we need to go beyond knee-jerk quick fixes and find holistic long-term solutions. For example, razing buildings will impact helpless and innocent homeowners. Why not penalise developers and BDA/BBMP and use that to create proper water canals," Mazumdar-Shaw said.
Notably, the Biocon executive has also expressed her frustration towards the apathy of Bengaluru civic bodies earlier as well.
Many environmentalists have also been calling out the city's development for cornering its lakes which play a major role in maintaining the city's ecosystem and also providing catchment areas to restrict flooding. But most of the lakes in Bengaluru are on the verge of extinction due to encroachment and pollution.
It is worth noting that parts of Bengaluru were submerged in water after two days of heavy rainfall last week. The worst affected areas include information technology corridors and arterial roads, and several localities.
During the same period, viral videos of techies travelling through tractors and bulldozers to their offices in Bengaluru left people amazed on the internet.
According to PTI, the encroachers include some tech parks, IT companies, hospitals, educational institutions, and apartment complexes.
(With inputs from PTI)
