Bengaluru: Now, an indoor stadium on Chamarajpet graveyard

BENGALURU: A BBMP subdivision office that has come up on a graveyard in Jagjivan Ram Nagar, Chamarajpet, is not alone in encroaching the domain of the dead. An indoor badminton stadium is under construction at the same graveyard, reports Shreyas HS.
While the BBMP office had come up on 2018-19, the indoor stadium is being built at a cost of Rs 1 crore. In its tender and the work order for building the stadium, BBMP said the structure is coming up on Hindu burial ground (HBG) main road, but stopped short of specifying any survey number or property ID number.
BBMP has already finished 70% of stadium work
Both structures stand on the graveyard bearing PID 136-10034-115 that is identified as Kannada Hindu burial ground. The stadium abuts another graveyard bearing PID 136-10034-117 and identified as Tamil Hindu burial ground. There are five graveyards in Chamarajpet.
The work order for the stadium was issued in May 2020 and BBMP has already completed 70% of work.
Asked for documents relating to the land on which BBMP and the stadium have come up through RTI, BBMP's Jagjivan Ram Nagar assistant revenue officer said the urban local body does not have any documents related to the land where the BBMP office has come up and the badminton court is being constructed.
Bhaskaran, an RTI activist, argued that since BBMP has not changed the land-use pattern, the plot on which the stadium and BBMP office stand is still a burial ground and the civic body's act is nothing but encroachment. He said he will demand a resurvey of the land.
BBMP joint commissioner (west) SM Srinivasa told TOI that he will enquire about the issue by directing officials to conduct an inspection.
RTI activist contests claim
In response to a TOI report on Friday on a BBMP office coming up on the graveyard, BBMP joint commissioner (west) SM Srinivasa said that in 1964 a small Palike office had been built on this land and Palike constructed a bigger office recently. However, records show the civic body has not done any planning before constructing the building which is a mistake, he added.
However, RTI activist Bhaskaran contested this claim. He accused lower-rung officers of misguiding the joint commissioner saying a BBMP office was built there as maps do not show such construction.