'High-tension' threat to 7000 illegal buildings in Bengaluru: Report
Bengaluru: Nearly 7,000 buildings in Bengaluru are dangerously close to high-tension (HT) power lines maintained by the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL), raising serious safety concerns amid recurring incidents of electrocution in the city.
This is despite the KPTCL identifying the structures four years ago and asking the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike to clear them, as reported by Deccan Herald on Monday.
In 2021, KPTCL flagged thousands of buildings constructed in violation of safety norms, particularly those that failed to maintain the mandatory vertical and horizontal clearance from overhead power lines. The utility provider subsequently alerted the BBMP, urging immediate intervention to avert potential tragedies. However, no concrete action has been taken yet, DH quoted sources in the KPTCL as saying.
Officials stressed that KPTCL lacks the legal authority to demolish or evacuate illegal constructions and can only notify the appropriate municipal authorities. “We can only identify and alert the BBMP officials. It is the civic body’s responsibility to ensure that such illegal are evacuated or demolished,” the news outlet quoted a senior KPTCL official as saying.
BBMP officials, meanwhile, contend that legal hurdles have hampered their ability to act decisively. “All of these buildings are either built without a plan approval or have violated the approved plan. We have issued notices to clear them. However, many of them challenge the notice in the court and the legal battle is going on,” a senior BBMP official in the town planning department said.
Adding to the complexity, KPTCL officials alleged that corruption within the civic body may have enabled such unauthorised construction in the first place. “The BBMP officials couldn’t clear them because they would have allowed the construction taking a bribe,” DH quoted a KPTCL official as saying.
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Worker’s body reaches Ranchi from Saudi 4 months after death; family rejects over compensation
Ranchi (PTI): The body of a migrant worker from Jharkhand’s Giridih district killed in Saudi Arabia in October last year has arrived at Ranchi Airport, but his family refused to accept it over pending compensation, officials said.
Shikha Lakra, team leader of the state migrant control cell, told PTI that, before taking the body of Vijay Kumar Mahato, the family is demanding compensation from the private company where he used to work in the Arab country.
Mahato was killed in an alleged crossfire between the police and criminals.
“Since it was a bullet injury case, the matter is before a court in Jeddah. The final compensation may depend on the court’s decision,” Lakra said.
“The Indian Embassy informed us about the body’s arrival, and coordination was done with district authorities. Our role is limited to coordination in cases involving overseas employers and foreign jurisdiction,” she added.
Giridih Deputy Commissioner Ram Niwas Yadav said the authorities will try to convince the family to perform the last rites.
“We have already sanctioned Rs 5 lakh under the government scheme for migrant’s deaths abroad. The compensation payment might take some time,” he said.
The body is currently at the mortuary of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi.
The Family members said they will only accept it if the company provides written assurance regarding compensation. “Without that assurance, we will not receive the body,” said Ram Prasad Mahato, the deceased’s brother-in-law.
Mahato, a native of Dudhpaniya village in Madh Gopali panchayat under Dumri block, was employed as a tower line fitter. His family said he was struck by a bullet during a gunfight between local police and an extortion gang and later succumbed to his injuries.
Social activist Sikander Ali said Mahato is survived by his wife, two young sons aged five and three, and elderly parents.
