Make it green again

Make it green again
Will MG Road ever be the same?
ANJALI MUTHANNA, MG Road


Anyone walking down MG Road now would never believe that the stretch of road, now dotted with imposing concrete pillars, was once one of the Downtown area’s major lung spaces. The Metro construction work in the area is now seen by most as an inconvenience, mainly because the width of the once very wide four-lane road has now reduced drastically.
However, the once-cherished MG Road boulevard was the victim of ‘necessary progress’ and several trees were lost in the bargain. Some were replanted in Manekshaw Parade Grounds, but most have not been replaced. The look of one of the city’s biggest commercial hubs has now changed, irreversibly so. Steel and concrete have replaced trees and flowers and the area looks like an indefinite work in progress. It is hard to envision what the new MG Road will look like once the project is complete, but all Bangaloreans can hope for is that the work is completed on schedule and that the authorities will get down to replanting the lost trees as soon as possible, and give the city back its lost landmark.