Residents claim illegal sewage spoiling drinking water wells on Bunder road; TMC slaps notice after seizing sewage

Bhatkal 24 September 2018: (Bhatkallys News Bureau) Residents of Bunder road first cross on Monday demonstrated their protest against the alleged illegal sewage left out by one of the residential building, while also alleging that the sewage had resulted in spoiling many drinking water wells in the locality. Members of about 15 families gathered on Bunder road first cross on Monday and called upon the TMC officials to immediately seize the sewage of the residential complex, the residents also alleged that the owner of the building had reportedly encroached the private land meant for the rain water drainage to build the building, a claim the latter denied and maintained the land rightfully was owned by them. TMC President Sadiq Matta, along with health officer Sujiya reached the spot and immediately ordered seizing of the sewage, while also slapping a notice to the building owner, for violating instructions of the TMC which were issued about three months back to remove the sewage connection and to dug a tank for themselves. Building Qamri tower, a residential building was built in 2017, on NH 66, had connected its sewage to the sewerage meant for rain water drainage which leads to Bunder road first cross, and after protest from the residents and complaints of their wells being effected, TMC had ordered the building owner to disconnect the sewage, which was allegedly violated by the owners. The building owners however maintained today that the land rightfully belonged to them and that they were voluntarily disconnecting the sewage. “The land rightfully belongs to us, but since we don’t want to be a problem for other residents we are disconnecting the sewage, we had planned to do this earlier itself but due to monsoon we were unable to do it” building owner Arafath Qamri told Bhatkallys.com TMC President Sadiq Matta added “We have already requested the revenue department to survey the land and to clarify as to whose land it is, it is still pending and once the survey is done the ownership of the land will be clarified. As the residents here have the survey map of 1947 which shows that it is sewerage while the building owners too have the map on 2007 which shows the land to be theirs”. TMC officials under the supervision of Sujayya, seized the sewage with concrete and cement while the building owners did not object as they were already installing a private tank for their sewage. Both TMC and the residents of Bunder road first cross now awaits the survey to be conducted by the revenue department and latter are on their toes to make allegations of corruption if it turned out that the land belong to the building as they claim that the older map(of 1947) is more authentic which is with them and the new one with building owners can be forged. (Bhatkallys News Bureau/ Ismail Zaorez)