Brothers decide to relocate house their dad built 100 ft away

Bengaluru: The hard work of parents in bringing up their offspring can never be forgotten, said the two sons of Shathamma and the late Yellappa, who are shifting an entire house in east Bengaluru to preserve the memories of their father. In what is probably a first-of-its-kind endeavour in the city, the two-storey house standing on 1,600 sqft plot is being moved 100 feet from its current location on 18th Cross, BEML Layout, Thubarahalli Palya, to another family plot 100 feet away. The work began Wednesday and is expected to be completed in 25 days. Y Devaraj and younger brother Y Vasu, both in their 50s and in real estate business, decided to relocate the entire house as it was getting waterlogged due to the overflowing Thubarahalli Lake and poor sewerage connection every time it rained. "We have a 10-gunta land 100 metres away from the existing land, and we wanted to shift the house there to preserve our dad's memories and mother's love for our home. The cost of shifting is approximately Rs 10 lakh, and renovation will cost another Rs 5 lakh," Devaraj told TOI. "The water would stagnate up to 2-3 feet, and we could barely live there. Our initial thought was to demolish the house and build a new one for our mother, but she was heartbroken when we told her our plans. So we promised to lift the entire house and relocate it to our land," said Devaraj. The family of four initially lived in a sheet house on the same plot. "We were farmers and have been living in this place all our lives. My husband and his family lived on this land," said Shanthamma, 70. "I had my children here, and they were raised here. When we started earning more, we built this three storey-storey structure in 2002 and it was my husband's dream home," she recalled. Two years later, Yelappa passed away. "My husband back then spent Rs 11 lakh on constructing the house, and it was like a mansion for me. Today, when there is a problem, I couldn't bear the thought of demolishing it," Shanthamma said. HOW SHIFT WILL HAPPEN Vikas Rana, MD, Shri Ram Building Lifting (Atham Ram and Sons), which has been contracted with shifting the house, said, "We have been doing this for over decades now. It is done carefully without breaking a single window, door or causing any damage to the property," Rana told TOI. About 200 iron jacks, 125 iron rollers, and seven main jacks are being used to shift Yellappa's house. Currently, the house has been moved 15 feet, and within 30 days, it will be shifted another 85 feet.