Should a rapidly developing city care more for trees or human beings? This was the question over which residents and the corporation were divided at a discussion on Sankey Road.
Should a rapidly developing city care more for trees or human beings? This was the question over which residents and the corporation were divided at a discussion on Sankey Road.
Residents told deputy mayor S Harish to stop cutting trees, and to preserve the green cover for posterity. The deputy mayor told them to be concerned for people too.
Even as the discussion continued, none of the residents were aware that the auction of the trees had concluded the previous night. This fact came home to them only as they emerged from Thursday’s discussions.
The consultation was to start at 11 am, but was delayed by one-and-a-half hours as the deputy mayor arrived late. Soon after he arrived, residents and environmentalists listed out reasons to refrain from widening Sankey Road.
They told him that if the city’s green cover was stripped, they would soon be forced to wear oxygen masks.
“The road-widening plan has proved a failure here like in Los Angeles. What is required is traffic management and efficient mass transportation to minimise widening of roads, cutting of trees and displacement of people,” said NS Mukunda, president of the Citizens’ Action Forum.
“The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike must be clear on the number of trees being cut for the road-widening project. People must be informed in advance, and taken into confidence. Public objection should not be ignored,” he said.
Malleswaram Residents’ Welfare Association member Dr Meenakshi Bharat said the widening of roads would only increase accident rates. Pedestrians and students would find it extremely difficult to cross the road. Hence, signal-free roads could not be the solution for traffic congestion,” she said.
“Trees should not be cut. Vendors should not be displaced to make way for rich people to move about in their cars.
Transparency should be maintained and the Karnataka Town and Country Planning (KTCP) Act must be followed as directed by the high court for road widening,” said Vinay Srinivas, representative of Hasiru Usiru, an NGO.
Environmentalist and chairman of Eco-Watch Suresh Heblikar said Ficus tree species located along Sankey Road were rare and on the decline in the country. “We should protect them. And road widening is not the solution for traffic chaos. In that case, we may have to widen all the major roads in Bangalore in the coming days,” he said. There were some voices supporting Palike’s road-widening plan too.
“I am the resident of the area over 50 years. Road widening is necessary to ease the bottleneck at Bhashyam Circle. Ficus family trees located on Sankey Road stretch are not rare and could be replanted and grafted,” said retired chief conservator of forest Jagadish Chandra.
The meeting remained inconclusive as the members of the two groups left the hall shouting at each other.
Harish said road widening was necessary to ease the area’s traffic congestion. Trees would be planted later, he said. “A tree lane will be formed after the widening. At least 50 saplings including Ficus will be planted. Work on road widening has already begun. Interested people can plant saplings and can obtain saplings from BBMP’s nursery,” he said.
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