Residents of Jayamahal formed Human chain to protest and save tree-lined street in Bangalore
Residents of Jayamahal and youth have joined forces to declare war against the move of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to clear the road of as many as 856 trees to widen the stretch for smoother traffic flow.In a show of solidarity to save hundreds of trees and spare the pedestrians inconvenience, Residents and students have decided to form a human chain on Sunday to protest the move to fell trees here to widen this 60-feet road into an 8-lane one.
Jayamahal Road which was until now untouched by developmental activities is set to lose as many as 856 trees to widen a 5-km stretch from Cantonment Station to Mehkri Circle.The Wild Forever Foundation, a group of college going students in association with Hasiru Usiru, an NGO for Environmental Issues, had formed a human chain on Jayamahal Road to register their protest.The protesters said that they were forced to take to the streets after a meeting with BBMP officials and the Chairman of the Standing Committee for Major Roads H Ravindra yielded no results on Saturday. The BBMP neither agreed to stop work till a public discussion was held on the matter nor gave a definite date for a meeting.
Widening the road won’t make a difference in the long run. Besides, crossing wider roads is more difficult. Moreover, 856 trees are marked for felling, many of them decades old. The solidarity forum, Hasiru Usiru, the Wild Forever Foundation (WFF), students and residents have planned a public meeting at the Raman Research Institute on Saturday. Among those slated to attend are BBMP commissioner Siddaiah, the chief engineer of the BBMP, and H Ravindra, chairman, BBMP standing committee for major works.
The residents have collected signatures from 500 people in support of the move to stall felling of trees. Some 2,000 people including 500 school and college students joined forces to declare war against the move of the BBMP to widen this ‘royal’ stretch.
In a cat-and-mouse game over the past few weeks, students pasted the posters by day, and found them torn down by night. The youth would set about making more posters and pasting them again, the next day.
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