Bangalore Tomorrow: A Garden City

Bangalore Tomorrow: A Garden City


It used to be known as the green city, but it's giving way to skyscrapers. As part of our special series 'Bangalore Tomorrow: Your Vote' we asked the people of the city for possible solutions to maintain the city’s green cover.



Today the Garden City is a concrete jungle. There has been an influx of working population that needs to be housed, and the resulting construction boom has happened at the expense of Bangalore's green cover and lakes.



The result - crowded areas and a changing climate. TIMES NOW spoke to Bangaloreans to find out how worried they were about the changes taking place in their city.



One Bangalore resident said, “I have been in Bangalore for the last 15 years, many things have changed. Greenery has reduced, especially Bellary road area, that’s why climate is also hot nowdays.”



“The lack of greenery is not really a healthy sight, there is garbage and construction everywhere,” said one Banglorean.



Clearly, Bangaloreans are worried - but how can the city grow without eating into the green space? As part of our series, we asked people across the city for solutions , and 59% felt the government needs to ensure that construction companies plant trees and maintain parks around buildings.



21% felt a green tax collected from builders to maintain the green cover is the answer.



An equal number of people said concrete construction should be banned in Bangalore for the next 10 years.



articleshow/1943710.cms



Interestingly, double the number of youngsters felt banning concrete construction is the answer, while one third of older citizens surveyed said a green tax is the solution.



Artist and singer Aarti Rao said, “Lots of these construction companies are indiscriminately chopping trees to clear land without permission. Every construction company, whether commercial or residential, should plant trees in and around their property.”



Mantri Developers, MD Sushil Mantri said, “Cutting of trees is quite common, the government is making an effort to control it but is unable to acheive success.”



Green cover depleting



Four years ago, 4.4% of Bangalore was open spaces. Today, it is almost half that number. With exceptions like the Cubbon Park most of the city's greenery is turning grey and lakes are drying up. Clearly this needs to be tackled for a better Bangalore Tomorrow.