BBMP seals Mantri Square Mall for a few hours

Bengaluru: For a few hours on Monday, busy Mantri Square Mall at the heart of  Malleswaram was completely sealed off. And no, it wasn’t a security  threat. But it was the second time in as many months that the Bruhat  Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had pulled down the shutters  at the mall over overdue property taxes. The first time, was on  October 1, when it allowed the management to re-open the mall after  it had paid `5 crore, and promised that the outstanding amount would  be settled by October 31. When it failed to do so, BBMP officials led  by Joint Commissioner (West) locked the entrance of the shopping  complex and did not allow customers to enter the mall on Monday,  even sending visitors out of the mall.

It is believed that the  management has arrived  at an agreement with the  BBMP Chief Commissioner which allows them  to clear the property tax  dues by the end of this  month. “We have given 15  days to the management  of Mantri Square Mall to  clear the property tax  dues of Rs 27 crore,’’  BBMP Joint Commissioner (West) told News Trail.