Green human chain to save Nanda road

Green human chain to save Nanda road

Protestors came from all parts of the city and were concerned that the boulevard would be marred

Sunitha Rao R. Bangalore



Hasiru Usiru, the NGO which has vowed to save the city's shrinking green spaces from the depredations of Namma Metro work, on Sunday forged a human chain between 30th cross and 32nd cross on RV Road (Nanda road) where 323 roadside trees are to be cut to make way for the elevated rail project.
"Namma Metro can go underground and save Nanda Road and Lalbagh. We urge the government to scrap the unnecessary Rs3,000 crore investment being planned for the High Speed Rail Link from MG Road to the Bengaluru International Airport, which will serve only 30,000 air-travelers. This money can instead be used to take the Namma Metro underground," said Vinay Sreenivasa, a member of Hasiru Usiru.
Welcoming the clarification from Dr Ramachandran, Secretary, Union Ministry of Urban Development and Chairman of the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL), that "a metro with a zig-zag alignment is not possible", the NGO said the remarks only meant that the elevated track alignments of the metro through Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao Parks were clearly not feasible as the proposed alignments in these areas too were zig and zag.
The NGO hoped that Dr Ramachandran would take the initiative to ensure that the project alignment along Nanda road will be shelved.
Meenakshi Seshadri, wife of Bangalore South Congress candidate Krishna Byre Gowda, who took part in the protest, said, "Plan B could be an underground metro. But it's feasibility has to be looked into, as underground metro too could uproot some trees."
"Nanda road is iconic of Bangalore, but metro is equally essential," said Meenakshi. "I am not here as a political activist, but as any other South Bangalorean," she said.
Former bureaucrat YK Muddukrishna criticised the government for spending large sums of money on mutts and for bringing Gangajal to the city. "Even if they spend a part of that money here, the metro can go underground," he said.
Santhosh Min B, an independent candidate from Bangalore South, said the entire project was not in sync with the city's requirements.
The protest also included a signature campaign in which people were asked to sign for one of their choices out of four.
The choices were: 1. Metro with loss of 323 trees 2. Underground with no trees felled 3. No metro here 4. Don't know. A poster of the signature campaign will be sent to BMRCL, said the activists.