Human chain to oppose tree felling on Jayamahal Road

Citizens from different parts of the city formed a human chain from Jayamahal Road to Mehkri Circle on Saturday to raise their voice against Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) proposal to axe 112 trees on Jayamahal Road to widen the stretch.

The citizens marched and formed a 1.3 km-long human chain holding placards and catching the attention of motorists and pedestrians as they raised slogans ‘Beke Beku, Mara Beku,’ ‘Steel Flyover Beda,’ ‘Save Trees, Save Bengaluru.’ A few wore black masks to symbolise decreasing oxygen levels due to felling of trees.

Shobha Nair, who came with her child, said she has fond memories of Jayamahal Main Road and the stretch is known for its huge trees. She said: “The future generation will have no air to breathe if trees are cut at this rate. There are ways to widen roads without felling trees.”

A public notice was earlier issued by the BBMP to cut 112 full-grown trees for widening work, which is part of the proposed steel bridge project.

Trustee member from Citizens for Sustainability (CiFOS), Lalitha Mohan pointed out that they are coordinating with Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) for redesigning Sanjaynagar Main Road. “Redesigning of the lane would be executed without a single tree being cut. Why cannot the Palike adopt this method?” she questioned.

One of the co-ordinators for Citizens for Bengaluru, Tara Krishnaswamy said BBMP has violated law and faces contempt of court by not holding public consultations about their project. “We will await the response from the Palike following which action would be chalked out accordingly.”

Volunteers from Citizens for Bengaluru and Citizens Initiative of Jayamahal Area along with local RWAs who have collected thousands of signatures from citizens, plan to submit a memorandum with the copy of the signatures to BBMP and state government representatives soon.

Countdown begins

The Palike has invited objections from public on removing the trees. Objections by public, public institutions and people’s representatives may be registered along with valid reasons and supporting documents either through e-mail at [e-mail] or through phone [phone]).