City builders turn a blind eye to pedestrians

BANGALORE: The BBMP has taken desilting very seriously, however, they are almost helpless when it comes to the construction debris parked on the pavements by the private builder.The construction material  is dumped onto the roads and footpath without sparing a thought for the pedestrians and the commuters using the road. Cambridge Layout is one such example. Three private houses are being constructed within a radius of 20 metres. Needless to say, they seem to have taken the ‘public property’ for granted. Sand, stones and other materials have found a home on these footpaths and roads.According to a BBMP chief engineer, such offence is punishable. The defaulter can be fined up to `1 lakh. He added that though the builders are fined, nothing changes. “The fine is usually not a very huge amount, it does not pinch them at all. Even after paying the fine, they do not correct themselves,” he revealed.He further opined that the builders are extremely inconsiderate and have no civic sense whatsoever. “Sand from the construction material seeps through the gaps in the footpath and into the drain, thereby blocking it. While stones block the passage completely,” he informed.Archana, a resident of Cambridge Layout told City Express that as most footpaths are built over drains, the desilting work that is in progress in Cambridge Layout at the moment has rendered one of the footpath unusable. “The other side of the footpath is blocked by the construction material. Pedestrians have no place to walk,” she said.The callous attitude of the builders have left the public and the civic agencies in a state of despair. “We can only fine the builder. In case he refuses to pay, the case goes to court and from there it is then added to his payable tax. Unfortunately, neither is the police active in penalising the defaulter nor does the BBMP have any sort of police enforcement team,” said the chief engineer.He feels that the law should be amended to take the defaulter to court and book a criminal case against them. “You can fine at the most ten to fifteen people. What does one do when everyone starts behaving so carelessly?” he asked. When questioned on what basis can the defaulter be charged, he  said, “Unfortunately we have no means to quantify the offence. Guidelines must be set.”Somashekhar, BBMP chief engineer East, said that he had recently fined a builder on Vittal Mallya Road `50,000 for dumping construction debris on public property.The builders also have their own set of problems. Two builders from Kundalahalli said, on the condition of anonymity that, while one’s site was too small to keep the construction material and develop the land, the other said that he had placed the material only on a temporary basis till the foundation was laid. He promised to remove it once it was done.