Karnataka: Empty plot turns burial ground, gives Belathur residents the creeps

BENGALURU: A 30ft x40ft vacant site on 3rd Main, Belathur, near KR Puram, is giving the jitters to residents after a body was buried there on May 20 by people who claimed it was a graveyard.
This was the second body to be buried at the vacant plot in six months.
"We are not against the concept of burying but there are areas designated for it. Many people use this road. This can become a psychological issue," said Dilip Patel, a resident of Belathur.
Dilip said he's been staying in Belathur for nearly 15 years and not once had such a thing happened till about six months ago, when a family visited the site and buried one of their relatives there, leaving residents in the vicinity shocked. "We met MLA Aravind Limbavali, joint commissioner Venkatachalapathy and other officials and brought the matter to their notice. They told us it was a revenue land and not a burial ground. They also assured us of resolving the issue, but nothing seems to have been done," he added.
Amita Podar, a homemaker and resident of Belathur, said her children are frightened to sleep in their room, which faces the vacant site. "They saw the burial and are traumatised ever since," she said. "We have closed the windows of our bedroom facing the burial ground and have stopped using it because we believe it now carries a negative energy that may disturb our positive lifestyle. We don't need such negativity in the locality," said Srinivali K, another homemaker.
There are nearly 2,500 flats and several independent houses surrounding the empty plot, and the developments have affected land prices in the area, claimed Ananth Kumar, resident of Keerti Apartments, Belathur. "After the May 20 incident, many people are unable to rent out their homes because all kinds of eerie rumours about the burial ground are doing the rounds," Kumar told TOI.
Limbavali and Venkatachalapathy were unavailable for comments.