550 trees to be axed for flyover

More than 550 trees will be felled in the City to ease traffic bottlenecks.

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) plans to axe the green canopy at Sadashivanagar police station junction and Shamanna Garden.

The BBMP plans to cut 347 trees at the Sadashivanagar police station junction to pave the way for the Bangalore Development Authority’s proposed flyover and an underpass.

At Shamanna Garden, the Palike plans to chop off 66 trees and 154 saplings to construct a railway overbridge and a railway underbridge. To achieve this, the assistant conservator of forest (ACF) sent two mails to the Hasiru Usiru, an NGO, asking its office-bearers to attend a meeting on June 25 between 3 pm and 4 pm. The notices were enough to alarm the green brigade who shot back a mail to the ACF.

Green activist Leo Saldanha told Deccan Herald: “I asked the ACF the necessity of the project at the cost of gigantic grand old trees. A few hours later I got another mail saying that the meeting that was scheduled for Monday had been postponed for an indefinite period.”
Saldanha was wary of the hasty decision to cut trees. “It’s alarming that the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagr Palike (BBMP) unilaterally took the decision to cut the trees without even consulting the local residents. The decision to defer the meeting for an indefinite period was taken soon after I shot the mail,” said Saldanha.

Another green activist Vinay Srinivasa said: “The overbridge / underbridge at Shamanna Garden will not only claim the lives of 66 trees and 154 saplings but also encroach on a portion of a park land, which is a violation of the Karnataka Parks, playgrounds and Open Spaces Act.”

Regarding the Sadashivanagar project, a senior Bangalore Development Authority officer requesting anonymity told Deccan Herald that the project worth Rs 25 crore is necessary to ease traffic at the “ever-busy” police station junction. He said the worries for the loss of greenery were uncalled for as the tree varieties were not of good quality.