They are furious over the permission given for a mall to come up even as the talk is about decongesting the thoroughfare.
Residents of Banaswadi took to the streets on Sunday to protest against a road widening project that is threatening to disrupt their life.
The protestors, who included both the young and the old, started their march from the ITC flyover and ended it near the Maruti Seva Nagar overbridge. They marched under the banner of the Residents’ Association of Banaswadi and were supported by Hasiru Usiru, Save Bangalore Committee and other groups from Banaswadi and Wheeler Road.
The demonstrators shouted slogans and called for an immediate end to the trend of shopping malls coming up in highly congested areas. The residents said that road widening in the name of transferable development rights (TDR) would benefit the vested interests of a few builders.
After the protest, the residents held a discussion with Padmanabha Reddy, the JD(S) leader in the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). Reddy said, “TDR can only happen after permission. It can’t be forced upon people.”
Continuing their fight, the residents will meet governor HR Bhardwaj, BBMP commissioner Siddaiah, and mayor SK Nataraj on Monday. During these meetings, the residents will put forth their alternatives to road widening. One of the alternatives they planned to propose was the construction of a carriageway.
The residents have vowed to fight till their last breath. More than 3,000 residents in the area will be affected by the road-widening plan. Most apartments which will be partially demolished for the project house senior citizens and defence personnel.
Capt (Retd) Basil Menezes, a senior citizen, said, “In 1982, I bought 6,100 sq ft of property. I worked for 40 years to buy this property. One-third of my property will go as per the road widening markings. If the bulldozer comes to raze my property to the ground, I will stand in its way.”
The protestors also raised their concern over the chopping down of trees. Many trees near ITC flyover have been downed without much thought. “One of the reasons we bought an apartment here is because we get a good view of the trees. But now they are being chopped off,” Priya Anand, a resident in Raheja Mansion, regretted. “The saplings planted to replace the chopped trees are not being nurtured,” said Rajashree Vinay, an occupant of Ramanachala Apartments.
Venkatesh N, proprietor of Pranav Diagnostic Centre at Maruthi Seva Nagar and an active member of the association, said the permission granted to a mall near the Mukunda flyover, would only increase traffic congestion in the area causing inconvenience to the residents. “When the plan is to decongest Banasawadi Road, how is this commercial property being allowed to come up? The situation will become similar to Mantri mall in Malleswaram,” said Venkatesh.
Elaine Menezes, joint secretary of the association, questioned road widening in Banaswadi. “Why does the BBMP want to go ahead with road widening though Banaswadi Main Road was not part of the original list of roads identified for road widening?” she asked.
Residents said they were yet to receive the notice on the exact extent of their property to be demolished for th project. “There is a certain procedure for the TDR to be implemented. However, it is not being done by the BBMP. This is because big land sharks are involved in TDR and residents must raise their voice against it,” said Venkatesh S Kumar, co-convenor for the road widening committee.
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