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Mantri Serenity residents’ ordeal continues; now, with lack of permanent power connection
Power supply to these towers has become an issue over a dispute between the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited and the developer
There seems to be no end to the ordeal of those who have bought flats at Mantri Serenity Apartments on Kanakapura Road. Now, those who heaved a sigh of relief when they finally moved into their flats in 2023, after inordinate delays, are stuck in buildings with neither an Occupancy Certificate (OC) nor a regular power connection.
The work on the project, which started in 2016, was discontinued for years on end and was completed with the Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing (SWAMIH) Investment Fund from the Union government.
Bescom even disconnected the temporary power supply it had given to four of the five towers on July 20. It was restored the same day on humanitarian grounds. Power supply to these towers has become an issue over a dispute between the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited and the developer.
Residents inconvienced
Due to the lack of a permanent power supply, residents have been suffering from frequent power outages. Even after owning a flat, residents have always been living in fear due to the power crisis. “As power connection is not reliable, we are also not able to work from home,” one of the residents said.
Narayana Vishwnathan, 75, who lives on the seventh floor in Block 5, said he ends up walking up and down when lifts do not function due to power outages. “I have even undergone a knee surgery,” he said. “Last month, a few senior citizens were stuck inside the lift for two hours. It was very traumatic,” he said.
Another resident, Lavanya Satish, 45, said they had spent crores, even taking loans, to pay for these flats and had no option but to move in despite the building having no OC nor a permanent power connection.
Fight against developer
Following Bescom disconnecting the temporary power connection to four of the five towers in the apartment complex on July 20, the residents’ association lodged a complaint against the developer Castle Vista Private Limited with the police.
The earlier owner of the land, India Heritage Trust (IHT), gave up a parcel of land to KPTCL to set up a 30 MW power substation inside the apartment complex in 2008. The developer, Castle Vista Private Limited, claimed as part of this agreement, the apartment complex was to be supplied with power from the substation.
R. Ramanujam, a flat owner in the apartment complex, said as per the agreement, the apartment complex could only draw up to 7.5MW of power from the substation and Block 2, which was the first to be completed, had been given a permanent power connection. However, as the other four towers were also completed recently with aid from the SWAMIH fund, the demand for power went up to 24 MW. “Unless a substation is set up, the power crisis in the apartment will continue,” Mr. Ramanujam explained.
When contacted, Snehal Mantri, founder of Mantri Developers, did not respond.
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