Now, Bamboo Bazaar residents oppose Metro station on playground

Kids say they will be robbed of their only play area

The opposition to the shifting of Metro station from the parking space near Cantonment Railway station to Madina Ground received a shot in the arm on Sunday as residents and children protested against the proposed project.

As activists and residents of the Bamboo Bazar gathered in the evening to express their apprehensions about the proposed Metro station, hundreds of children playing cricket in the ground surrounded them.

Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) had previously clarified that only a small portion of the ground was needed for building a Metro station. But, the protesters said the ground will lose its ambience and character once a Metro station comes up.

“I have played cricket here since I was a child. A Metro station here will take away the only place we have for sports activities. First, we will be barred from playing here once the project work starts. If a Metro station comes here, we will have too many restrictions,” said Irfan Ahmad, a pre-university student who lives nearby.

Residents said the playground has not seen any development for years. “It has been in a pitiful condition but children play happily without complaining. We expected that one day the government will develop the playground. We didn’t know they are planning to snatch it away,” said Syed Saifuddin, a resident of Bamboo Bazar.

Activists from Citizens for Bengaluru and Praja joined the children and discussed the issue. They stood in rain and held placards with slogans against the Metro station coming up on the ground.  “We want justice. We don’t want to lose this ground. The government should help us,” they shouted.

A resident of the area who has played in Karnataka Premier League (KPL) said children will have to travel to Shivajinagar to play cricket if the ground is taken away. “Though I did not play very often at Madina Ground, I can say that there are a lot of children who will be directly affected if the ground is taken away for the Metro station,” he said.

In a media release, the protesters said, “As per earlier approved alignment of the Gottigere-Nagawara Metro Line, we will have three Metro stations within one kilometre radius- Pottery Town, Cantonment and Shivajinagar. Hence, we don’t need the station here. What we need is a good BMTC feeder service and improvement of our roads.”