Burgling made easy by low walls, weak security

BENGALURU: Residents of Bangalore Development Authority’s residential Layout in Alur are worried after the second case of a break-in on Monday night. The locker of a 2BHK houses was broken and over Rs 1.3 lakh in cash was stolen.Residents claimed that low compound wall built by BDA with gaps was among the reasons for easy access into the gated community. Mushtaqh Ahmed, an engineer, told TNIE, “This could be the second in recent times, but such incidents have happened in the past.”

On August 29, miscreants entered by wrenching the latch of a door that opens into the terrace. The victim, Shafi Ahmed, told TNIE, “I lost a total of 150g of gold worth around `8 lakh from inside the cupboard. We are living in a constant fear of the next incident,” he said.

Alur BDA Phase-2 Owners Welfare Association secretary Sashidhara Giraddi also blamed the low compound wall in 70 per cent of the area. “It is just 5.5 ft high, which anyone can jump over. This is a temporary wall. The blue print of the Layout showed a high wall with pillars. Only the wall at the entrance is of a proper height. There are also gaps at the dead end. A compound wall, which collapsed during the rain, is yet to be fixed,” he explained.

Jeeveshwar, another house owner, said, “We, our houses, and vehicles are unsafe in the Layout. Thieves are taking advantage of inadequate security staff and poor lighting.” BDA Assistant Executive Engineer for the project, Prabhulinga Swamy, said the authority was in the process of rebuilding the compound wall. “Tenders will be issued soon. If the association writes to us seeking to raise the height of the wall, we will consider it,” he said.