Residents take matters into hands for lake  

BENGALURU: Monday had a different story to tell when residents of Whitefield came together to protect Pattandur Agrahara lakebed from encroachment. They intervened during road construction works that allegedly violated NGT norms.Residents accosted workers and turned away their trucks, which had turned up at the spot despite the BBMP commissioner’s statement on Saturday. The commissioner had ordered to stop works for now. Dumping and levelling the lake bed with debris began about two weeks ago and continued till Saturday night.

“I woke up to a rude shock as the BBMP resumed dumping and levelling on the lakebed after a gap on Sunday, despite the Commissioner’s public statement. Two JCBs along with 10 trucks resumed their work from 9am. Around 25 residents went to question Kadugodi ward AE Muniyappa, but in vain. We sent back the trucks and stopped the dumping,” Sandeep Anirudhan, a resident near the lake, said.When The New Indian Express spoke to Muniyappa, he claimed that he had no updates regarding the issue from his higher officials.