Cubbon Park on Sunday saw a huge protest where people from different walks of life opposed the construction of a seven-storied annex building. Citizens from various parts of the city came out to the streets after Karnataka High Court ordered the project in the Cubbon Park region.
Save Cubbon Park
Green activists and Walkers at Cubbon Park have gathered 2,000 signatures for their campaign and the 10,000 signature in an online campaign to halt plans to construct a seven-storied building in the Park. The protest took place after the Karnataka High Court gave a green signal to construct the building.
One of the protesters addressing the media said, “What is the need of constructing a seven-storied building? As the citizens of Bengaluru, we are proud that we have such a huge green space. It is so distressing to think of a concrete jungle here. We are already talking about 70% of Bengaluru’s green cover disappearing in 15 years, so we can’t let this happen to Cubbon Park. We must preserve our greenery.”
If the building is constructed here, then it’ll be on our graves
“The whole Cubbon Park was about 300 acres earlier, but it has now been reduced to 150 acres. If we keep quiet, there won’t be a park in some days. The city is already polluted and children are affected by pollution. If such kind of construction is allowed, the health emergency of Delhi will be upon us.” Harohalli Srinivasaiah Doreswamy, a freedom fighter, and a journalist, who was also a part of the protest addressed the media.
“Let’s stop the foundation of all the buildings inside the park. If the government wants to build a building here, then it’ll be on our graves,” he added.
Proters also had a measuring tool that included 2 boxes, where one box read “I don’t care” and another box read “Save Cubbon Park”. There were seeds kept next to the tool. The people decided to put the seeds in whichever boxed they wanted to.
Karnataka High Court’s nod
In 2014, a petition was filed by the Registrar General of the Karnataka High Court seeking permission to construct the seven-storied building in the Cubbon Park region. October 17 this year, the single judge bench headed by Justice PS Dinesh Kumar gave a green signal to the construction of the building in the place of the Election Commission building.
Umesh K, president of the Cubbon Park Walkers Association, said: “ I will file an appeal in the divisional bench of the court to issue a stay order on the construction.”
“This is just an initial stage. We would like to take the protest further. We will form a human chain in front of the Election Commission building next week. We would also visit the Chief Secretariat and the Chief Minister to reconsider the decision. The high court has ordered to ensure that the trees are not cut for the construction on that 2-acre land but how’s it possible?” he added.
