Preserve BTC as a lung space, say prominent Bangaloreans

Preserve BTC as a lung space, say prominent Bangaloreans
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: Prominent citizens of Bangalore, including historian and writer Ramachandra Guha, playwright and Jnanpith Award winner Girish Karnad, ecologist Madhav Gadgil, writer Shashi Deshpande, Capt S Prabhala, Zafar Futehally and others have written an open letter to chief minister B S Yeddyurappa asking him to retain the land vacated by Bangalor Turf Club (BTC) as a green space. They specifically expressed concern over reports that part of the course would be used for commercial purposes.
The letter says that “as concerned citizens of Bangalore, we are disturbed,” by reports that the government “envisages the construction of an exceptionally tall skyscraper on the land scheduled to be vacated by the BTC at the end of this year. We wish to register our strong opposition to any such plan, which we believe will only exacerbate the many serious civic problems that have come to plague this city over the past decade.”
The letter further says, “We are, in fact, surprised that you have proposed the construction of a 200-250 floor building in one of the few open spaces left in Bangalore, when the government itself had cited pressure on traffic as one of the reasons for the relocation of the race course (as recorded in newspaper reports on 15 May 2009). Traffic congestion is sure to be greatly intensified by any multi-storey construction on the land, let alone a building of over 200 floors.”
The letter makes the point that while the city’s population rose by over 60% between 1991 and 2001 and with the next census bound to register equally rapid population growth, “lung space in Bangalore in contrast has not grown at all. If anything, it has shrunk with the gradual reduction of the green belt and the takeover of lakes and tanks, wetlands and grasslands, not to mention agricultural land, both within the city and in surrounding areas,” the letter adds.
“People, political leaders and governments across the world are increasingly recognizing the importance of urban green space not only for quality of life but for the very sustainability of cities. Even congested cities like New York are finding creative ways to increase their green heritage. The preservation and expansion of green space will do more for Bangalore’s global image than any skyscraper, however tall,” it adds.
The letter ends saying, “Against the norm of 10-16 sq mts per head of city population, Bangalore has only 2.82 in 2003, down from 5.32 in 1990. Even Delhi has managed to keep 6.32 sq mts of open space per capita (2003). Your endeavour should be to improve the already low figure of Bangalore, if not match the world norm...”