Flicker of hope for a lung space

Flicker of hope for a lung space

Bangalore south candidate gopinath has jumped headlong into the campaign to save lalbagh

Vaishalli Chandra. Bangalore

On Saturday, Captain GR Gopinath kept his promise of assembling peacefully outside the Lalbagh West gate.
He along with his supporters took out a candle light march from there to the Rose Garden on RV Road to voice their concern against the demolition of the compound wall and felling of the trees to accommodate the upcoming metro rail in the city.
Gopinath's stand has been clear. He feels that the metro should go underground as is the case in cities across the globe, be it London or Delhi or even near the Cubbon Park area in Bangalore. Yesterday's walk was organised to express support to the cause of saving Lalbagh.
The Lalbagh issue has managed to alarm citizens who have realised that the government is often indifferent to the different problems confronting them. Many felt the need to set up a formal citizen's forum that will only allow them to give voice to their concern regarding issues that affects them on a day-to-day basis.
Captain Gopinath, before the march, inaugurated the citizen forum called KITES, at Jain College on Mission Road.
The forum, he said, would serve as a guideline for him to understand citizen's concerns. Brand consultant Harish Bijoor, also the moderator at the discussion said, "The forum would be a support system for Gopinath that will help him form his decisions."
The Lalbagh incident has been the major inspiration that has ignited in him this urge to set up a forum. After all, the citizens are worried about losing not just a breathing space but also a significant heritage site.
Addressing the audience, the Captain said, "There is a serious flaw in the democracy." He also pointed to the fact that most political party candidates were so concerned about appeasing the high command that they forget to attach any significance to the issues faced by the people.
He added that the three pressing issues concerning citizens are corruption, lack of civil liberty and communal strife. The audience also echoed the same concerns during the discussion.
"We need to reach out to those in the slums. We need to go to them and see what problems they are facing," suggested Professor Sreenivas, one among the audience. Amar, a techie in the audience suggested, "We need a platform that will let politicians sit and listen to the public." Harish offered that even candidates should be reviewed on the basis of their performance.
A concerned parent said that the fee structures in schools were becoming so high that even double income families were finding it difficult to cope up with the education cost. According to him, this is a matter that requires to be looked in to urgently.
Present at the discussion was Mohandas Pai, who urged urban voters to do something concrete and said sitting and complaining wouldn't help, "You are responsible for the society around you." In order to improve the quality of governance, people will have to come out and participate, he felt.Theatre personality Arundhati Nag said a society free of corruption is what one should aim for. "We owe it to the next generation and we should go on an anti-corruption drive," she said.