Bengaluru, Oct 26: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday said the drive to demolish unauthorised and dilapidated buildings was underway in Bengaluru.

Shivakumar, who holds the Bengaluru development portfolio, said the registration of unauthorised properties will be halted and encroachments will be removed.

Further, more powers will be given to civic agencies and planning bodies.

ALSO READ: Bengaluru building collapse: One more body recovered; death toll climbs to 9

“We have decided to stop unauthorised construction of buildings. The previous government had curtailed the powers of officials to take action against unauthorised construction,” the Deputy CM told reporters here.

“Our government has decided to give powers to BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike), BDA (Bangalore Development Authority) and BMRDA (Bengaluru Metropolitan Region Development Authority) to stop unauthorised construction. The registration of unauthorised properties will also be stopped. At the same time, we are also focusing on clearing encroachments,” he said.

On preventing flooding in Bengaluru, Shivakumar said it has been decided to develop 300 km roads alongside the Storm Water Drains (SWD) to prevent flooding.

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London, Oct 26: Thieves with a nose for fine cheese have pulled off a massive cheddar ripoff in London.

Neal's Yard Dairy said a con artist posing as a wholesale distributor for a major French retailer had made off with 22 metric tons (48,488 pounds) of award-winning cheddar worth 300,000 British pounds (USD 390,000) before the company realised it had been scammed and reported the theft on Monday.

“The high monetary value of these cheeses likely made them a particular target for the thieves,” Neal's Yard Dairy, a distributor, wholesaler, and retailer of British artisanal cheese, said in a statement.

Detectives at Scotland Yard and international authorities are searching for the culprits.

Nearly 1,000 wheels of cloth-wrapped cheese from three makers have gone missing: Hafod Welsh organic cheddar, Westcombe cheddar, and Pitchfork cheddar.

The dairy sells a wedge of Hafod cheddar for 12.90 pounds (USD 16.70) for 270 grams (9.5 ounces).

Tom Calver, a director of Westcombe Dairy, said a lot of work went into making the cheese that was aged 12 to 18 months

“We're devastated,” Calver said. “For that to be stolen ... it's absolutely terrible.”

Neal's Yard Dairy has asked international cheesemongers to be on the lookout for the stolen cheese, particularly in 10-kilogram (22-pound) and 24-kilogram (52-pound) blocks.

It says it has paid all three cheesemakers in full, in keeping with its ethos of supporting small independent businesses developing the British cheese sector.