The executive engineer, Byatarayanapura division is said to have complained to Smpigehally Police Station, that Manyata Tech Park (owned by Embassy Group) has encroached the open drain, diverted its natural flow and built an illegal bridge over the drain, which led to the creation of a dangerous spot in the drain leading to the death of a 15-year-old in an open drain at Veerannapalya, However, police are yet to register a case against the tech park.
The Raja Kaluve runs through private land and the drain part is listed as kharab land, which is not owned by any private individual and cannot be tampered with, However, BBMP officials accuse Manyata Tech Park of tampering with the open drain, which affected the natural flow of water.
BBMP surveyors rushed to the spot, surveyed the open drain and found that while maps showed the drain to be running southwards, on ground it was diverted (by a group) to the south-east, leading to the drowning of the boy.
“The tech park had used pipes to divert water flow from the place where they have put a bridge comprising a concrete slab, which created a suction effect and dragged the boy into the water. Thereby, the tech park is directly responsible for his death,” said Sarfaraz Khan, Joint Commissioner, Yelahanka zone. “Manyata Tech Park is coming up with many constructions in the area. They have built an unauthorised bridge by putting a heavy concrete slab to gain access to the construction site. It has been there for five years.”
In a statement, Embassy Manyata Business Park said: “This incident is unfortunate, but happened outside the boundaries of Manyata Tech Park, which is beyond our jurisdiction.”
But, the diversion of rainwater and construction of a bund and bridge by the builder is unauthorized and illegal, resulting in the death.