BBMP’s ‘haunted’ zonal office in the heart the city which the staff dread

BENGALURU: Imagine walking down this particular street after 6 pm. It is pretty dark and eerie, no one is around and you only hear the rustle of leaves and distant sounds of vehicles. As you approach a turn, you see an abandoned building. You continue walking cautiously, ignoring the weird feeling creeping up your back.

Suddenly, a man shouts “Hey! Dont go that way!” You get the biggest scare of your life. While trying to catch your breath, you turn towards the man, and he is running up to you and says, “Why are you here? Don’t you know no one goes near that building after 6 pm?”

The canopies are crumbling and windows are broken.

Upon further questioning, the man says he’s the security guard of the building and it is haunted. You are now curious and want to question more, but then you turn back and walk home. The security guard himself goes elsewhere to catch a nap.

There is garbage, filth and weeds all around.

This is the story of the BBMP East zone office on Queen’s Road in the central business district. The staff working at the BBMP office clam that they have experienced paranormal activities when they are alone in the office — like chairs moving around, the sound of anklets, someone shouting, etc.

The decrepit BBMP office which even its own staff dread.

The BBMP zonal office is an old stone building at least 70 to 80 years old and houses the engineering, revenue and health offices. The place around the office building is strewn with mud, garbage, weeds and filth. The building has years of moss on it, which gives it a eerie, ‘haunted’ feeling.

Also, the plastering on the ceiling keeps coming off here and there, electrical pipes hang from the walls and the entire place is a huge mess. The staff walk in only after 10 am and are out by 6 pm.

The ceiling plaster has fallen off in many places and there is moss on the building.

The employees say that during Covid-19, the lockdown and during election times, when only a handful of people were at the office every day, they could feel someone pulling chairs and that they could hear the sound of anklets or someone calling out. When they reported this to the higher authorities, the latter were dismissive saying that since it’s an old building, such things may have occurred.

The office building is a mess with cracked walls and things dumped in corners.

It is believed that the a couple of intoxicated men had fallen off the building about 20 years ago.  The Palike would do well to ensure that the premised is cleaned up and the office building gets a makeover so that the staff can work in a better environment without fear.