98 trees on Seshadri Road to be chopped

Green to gray: Seshadri Road on destructive path
The BMP will chop as many as 98 full-grown trees on this road.
Deccan Herald

The lush-green ambience of Seshadri Road, adorned with hundreds of full-grown trees, will soon be a thing of past. For, Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) on Thursday began axing these trees, paving the way for the construction of a flyover.

As many as 98 trees along the busy Seshadri Road, connecting Anand Rao Circle to Subbanna Circle (near Maharani’s College), will be chopped to facilitate construction of the flyover.

The BDA has already begun the work at Anand Rao Circle. Of the 98 trees, two trees located inside the Old Central jail premises will also be chopped to carry out construction activities. “The project contractor-Simplex Concrete Piles India Limited, has planned to install machineries to be used for the project implementation inside the premises and, therefore, sought permission to cut two trees,” officials said. These trees will be cut in a phased manner as and when the project implementation progresses. “These are ones that are located along the road. No other trees in the Maharani’s College compound will be felled,” officials added.

The BDA has taken up the project at a cost of Rs 27.6 crore. The proposed four-lane one-way flyover is expected to decongest traffic at Anand Rao Circle, K R Circle, Subbanna Circle, Basaveshwara Circle, near Race Course and roads connecting Seshadri Road, officials said.

The project is expected to be completed by around December 2005.

Former Chief Secretary, A Ravindra said that cutting of so many trees is a serious issue. The need for a flyover at this stretch should be re-examined. Besides, constructing a flyover at the heart of a city should not be encouraged, he added.

Former bureaucrat A N Yellappa Reddy said that as there is no other alternative to ease traffic congestion, trees have to be cut. Nobody can prevent the development of the city and hence, one has to make certain compromises for the larger interest of society, he noted.

Environmentalist Suresh Heblikar criticised BDA for felling these trees and said that the trees on Seshadri Road are part of Bangalore’s heritage. “Heritage does not always mean buildings, it can be trees also. It is a pleasure to walk on this road, with so much greenery,” he added.