How green was my Suranjan Das Road

Even as the residents of Suranjan Das Road mourn the loss of a few giant trees that have been cut down to make way for traffic, many do not know that the actual number of greens to be hacked counts in hundreds. As many as 183 trees along the road will be chopped to make way for a four-laned road.

The greenery and the shade which added to the charm of this road is all gone, they complain. They can do nothing but watch helplessly because the agency that plans such projects do not consult them or hear their pleas. However, the residents wonder if the project is really well-thought of by the BBMP as there are many loopholes that need to be plugged.

“How do they plan to execute it? There are telephone lines, drains, power lines and some buildings that are too close to the road. We have neither been consulted nor shown the plan. We feel helpless. But there is no point writing to them. It is just a waste of time,” said SK Srinivasan who has been living here for 13 years.

“It was a beautiful road. I took pictures of the trees before they cut them, there is no point protesting; the BBMP has not given any solution to ease congestion other than road-widening,” lamented a resident of 10 years. “The road is always so choked that sometimes I cannot take my car out during peak hours,” she said.

People have been forced to choose between trees and a congestion-free road. But they aren’t too sure if sacrificing the former will make any difference to the latter. However, now that healthy and seasoned trunks have been done away with, the BBMP should start planting new saplings immediately, said residents of HAL III Stage. “Now that they are aware of the road width, they can plant saplings so that by the time the road is built, the trees too will begin to grow,” suggested Shobha Kumar, a resident.

That seems to be a tall order. “The project is a work-in-progress and one can’t really tell how many trees will have to be cleared,” said DCF M Krishnappa. However, he maintained that it had to be done for the benefit of the thousands of commuters, as business activity in Whitefield, Marathahalli and KR Puram is likely to get a tremendous push when the Metro line on Old Madras Road begins functioning. Then, Suranjan Das Road will be an important road. “This is the first deviation from Old Madras Road after the Metro station. Right now, the Passenger Car Unit (PCU) is 2,267 per hour. In the next 15 years, that number is likely to touch 3,829,” says KT Nagaraj, superintending engineer (major roads).

The trees are all but gone, leaving the once-canopied, cool stretch, bare. While the BBMP is wasting no time turning these majestic trees into firewood , it is, however, yet to call for tenders for the next stage of the project which involves making this 3.85km road a four-laned 18.5m thoroughfare with a median. While engineers insisted that the location of a major Metro station has made widening imperative, they also revealed that the project was conceptualised jointly by Bagmane Tech Park, HAL and BBMP much before the station came into the picture. The total expense of Rs14.74 crore will be shared by the Tech Park and BBMP with the former bringing in 25% of the cost. HAL will give 28,875 sq metres of space. At market rate of Rs5,000 per square feet, the value of the land alone is about `155 crore, Nagaraj explained. The road itself is owned by HAL now. A lot is being invested in the road for the benefit of road users; the generosity should be acknowledged and appreciated, Krishnappa said.

Additionally, at both the junctions where Suranjan Das Road meets Old Airport Road and Old Madras Road, there will be underpasses built for free left and right turns. But residents are still concerned about the bottlenecks that will persist at the junctions slowing down traffic thus rendering widening useless.

“These need to be treated eventually, but that component is not included in this project,” Nagaraj said. This only means that commuters and residents have a long wait to endure before they can be appreciative of the project. As for the trees, it will be a while before their sacrifice bears fruit, if any.