'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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Kerala ADGP Mahipal Yadav dies in Jaipur on day of retirement ceremony
Thiruvananthapuram: Senior IPS officer and Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Mahipal Yadav passed away in Jaipur, Rajasthan, on Wednesday. He had been undergoing treatment for a brain tumour. Yadav was due to retire from service on August 30, and a farewell function was scheduled to take place at the Kerala Police headquarters on the same day.
A 1997-batch IPS officer, Yadav last served as ADGP, Crimes, a post he was given in May 2025. Due to his illness, he had been on extended leave. Over the years, he held several key positions, including Excise Commissioner, IG Internal Security, IG Coastal Police, IG Training at the Kerala Police Academy, IG Crimes, IG Kannur Range, and IG BSF.
During his deputation with the CBI, Yadav investigated major cases such as the AgustaWestland helicopter deal and the inquiry into Mulayam Singh Yadav’s assets. For his service, he was awarded the President’s Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 2013 and the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 2024.
A condolence meeting is scheduled at the police headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram at 4 pm on Wednesday.
