After Namma Metro, advocates want slice of Cubbon Park pie

After Namma Metro, advocates want slice of Cubbon Park pie
B. S. Ramesh
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FEELING THE SQUEEZE: Cubbon Park, laid out in 1864, spreads over 334 acres and is home to several groves of trees and bamboo. But never has it been so vulnerable as it is now. Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.
THE HINDU FEELING THE SQUEEZE: Cubbon Park, laid out in 1864, spreads over 334 acres and is home to several groves of trees and bamboo. But never has it been so vulnerable as it is now. Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.
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High Court lawyers want space to park their cars near their workplace

After Namma Metro, it is now the turn of the advocate fraternity to eye a piece of the historic Cubbon Park.

And if the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation wants part of the park for the underground stretch of its project, the advocates want a much larger chunk to park their vehicles, mainly cars.

The park, laid out in 1864, is spread over 334 acres of land and is home to several groves of trees and bamboo.

The Advocates Association of Bangalore (AAB) is pushing for its case even as the BMRCL's application for the park land is under the Karnataka High Court's consideration.
After the murder

During a meeting held to beef up security in the High Court premises in the wake of the recent murder of a woman advocate, the AAB sought the stretch of land between High Court and Karnataka Government Insurance Department (KGID) building be earmarked to park advocates' cars as they could then walk through the metal detectors after being frisked.

The meeting was attended among others by Karnataka High Court Chief Justice P.D. Dinakaran, Registrars, Police Commissioner Shankar M. Bidari and the AAB office-bearers, including its President K.N. Putte Gowda.

The AAB suggested the police and High Court join hands to replicate the Supreme Court's security measures where advocates' cars are parked in an open area and advocates and litigants go through body scanners and their luggage through baggage scanners.

The association said litigants could obtain letters from their advocates to enter the court.

Greens see red

When it was pointed out that there are environmental concerns considering the fact that Bangalore has already lost so much of tree cover to infrastructure projects, Mr. Putte Gowda said no construction will come up in the parking space. Moreover, there is no park there.

Environmentalists are not impressed.
Under threat

They said the park is already under threat from growing urbanisation and several establishments like the Office of the Department of Horticulture, Election Commission and others functioning within the park have sought permission to construct more floors.