last rites - RIP, Bengaluru trees

last rites - RIP, Bengaluru trees
SANCHITA SEN
BENGALURU


Article Rank




Callously felled and carted away, Bengaluru’s lost trees will now be given a ‘shraddha’.
Sanmathi, a women’s group from South Bengaluru, in collaboration with the Hasiru Usiru network, is organising a ‘death ceremony’ for the magnificent trees that once gave Bengaluru the sobriquet of the ‘Garden City’ and have since been chopped down to make way for various infrastructure projects.

The dress code for the event on Sunday will be all white — dhotis sarees or pants and shirts — just like at any shraddha, said Kanishka Lahiri, a volunteer with Hasiru Usiru.

and The organisers say the event will also be a protest against the felling of trees for Metro Rail in south Bengaluru.

After the programme, the participants will discuss ways to save the trees in Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao Park. “It is estimated that about 1.5 million trees have been felled for road widening and other projects in and around the city over the past decade,” said Sanmathi vol unteer Chandra. “We do not want this to continue.” The programme will be held in Lakshman Rao Park at 32nd Cross and Nanda Road Junction at 11 am. Everyone who wants to save Bengaluru’s trees is welcome.