JOIN USWhat does Bengaluru stand to lose? A grove, heritage and memories
Activists have started an online petition to save a grove in the All Saints’ Church compound from being axed for the Gottigere-Nagavara metro line.
Addressed to the chief minister, the petition by members of the Environmental Support Group (ESG) has clocked over 4,500 signatures. The church is located at the junction of Richmond Road and Hosur Road.
The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) plans to cut 20 trees but the church congregation fears it may affect many more. These trees are over 150 years old and the roots have outgrown the canopy by five times, Ebenezer Premkumar, a member of the congregation for 35 years, explains.
Felling the trees will affect peacocks, paradise fly-catchers and 23 other bird species that call the ‘sacred grove’ their home. It will also rob a recreation space from people living in the old age home and students going to the special school within the compound. “It is not possible for us to let go of this space,” Ebenezer insists.
Leo Saldanha, founder-trustee with ESG, informs that the patch has been used to hold funeral masses, weddings and fellowship functions. “Such spaces add to the living heritage of the city. They should be held on to,” he says.
If Vidhana Soudha or Cubbon Park can be left untouched for metro projects, then why not the church, asks Leo. “We are asking the CM to save it as a part of his legacy,” he adds.
‘It is one of a kind’
It’s not just the grove these citizens are rallying to save but also the 152-year-old church, which according to an Intach report, qualifies to be a heritage site.
It was designed by Robert Fellowes Chisholm, a pioneer of Indo-Saracenic style architecture. The church has an unusual truss (assembly of beams). It boasts of an aesthetically-done curved truss, designed by French military engineer Paul-Joseph Ardant. That’s why it’s called Ardant truss.
“The steel girder and truss used in the church are one of a kind in the whole of Bengaluru,” Ebenezer explains why church members and residents around the area take pride in its heritage.
If the metro work takes off and blasting begins, it may strain the church’s building and also the stained glass windows at the entrance and the altar. “The church was built on a small budget, unfunded by the British government. It was built with uncut stones, and the foundation using lime and mortar. All these are at a risk,” he says.
The church is built on a lower level and the concretisation around it can lead to flooding, it’s another of their concerns.
They also fear the encroachment of the church. Leo says the metro’s Detailed Project Report (DPR) states there will be no encroachment but “BMRCL suddenly started acquiring properties around the Church.” Where is the transparency, asks Leo.
‘Move to Vellara instead’
Leo says the location around the All Saints’ Church is not ideal for a metro station. It will lead to traffic jams.
“Even if one vehicle breaks down or stops, there will be chaos. The triangulation of Residency Road, Richmond Road and Brigade Road will get jammed,” he explains.
He feels the station should be moved to Vellara junction instead.
“The DPR says metro stations should be equidistant from each other. So the Vellara junction is better,” he says.
Once the Vellara junction gets the metro connectivity, authorities should think of developing it into a nice hub for students of St Joseph’s College, Sacred Heart Girls’ High School and others in the vicinity, complete with libraries, coffee shops and socialising spaces.
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