Date:23/09/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/09/23/stories/2004092313960300.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Dharam Singh visits slum

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, SEPT. 22. It was a surprise visit; even the media came to know about it only by chance. The Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh, and former Minister and MLA, Roshan Baig, went around Jayamahal Assembly Constituency on Wednesday.

The Chief Minister was taken to the Muslim burial ground and the adjacent Bederahalli Slum where 316 families live. He was told that the encroachments posed a threat to the burial ground.

Mr. Dharam Singh instructed that the slum dwellers be shifted to 500 units constructed by the Karnataka State Slum Clearance Board at Benson Town.

He asked the BWSSB and BESCOM to see that the shifted families were provided all amenities such as water and sewage connections and electricity supply. The BMP Special Commissioner, Subash Chandra, was asked to release Rs. 16 lakh for the rehabilitation of the Bederahalli slum dwellers, as they could not afford to pay for the new quarters. The future of the burial ground was uncertain as several hutments had sprung up in the vicinity.