Citizens show thumbs down to govt's Lalbagh 'facelift' plan

In response to Deccan Herald’s invitation to express their views whether Lalbagh should remain as it is or should be developed as an amusement park, a good number of Bangaloreans have sent their mails vehemently opposing the horticulture department’s proposed plans.

While a reader said he distributed sweets after reading the news that Geological Survey of India is opposing any work on the rock garden, a member of  the Mysore Grahakara Parishat has submitted a petition to the governor, chief minister and head of the Horticulture Department opposing the project proposals to develop Lalbagh into a fun park. Here are excerpts from the mails DH has received:

Don’t disturb nature

Lalbagh and Cubbon Park are the only two remaining lung spaces in the heart of Bangalore. Why does the Government want to turn every open space into an amusement park?

Lalbagh is beautiful as it is, so please let it be as it is. Let it not become a Santosa. Nature is beautiful as it is, just preserve it.

Prema Kakade

No junking
The Garden City (Bangalore) has already lost much of its greenery. There is no dearth of amusement centres in the City. It is absolutely absurd to develop Lalbagh as an amusement centre. It shows lack of direction at policy makers’ level.

If Lalbagh becomes an amusement park ignoring the sentiments of the people, the entire area will become a garbage yard as eateries are bound to come up.  The need of the hour is to ban plastic, movement of vehicles, desilt lake and prohibit further construction in Lalbagh. Let us not lose even a single tree in the name of development.

Rajiv N Magal,
Bannerghatta Road

A great lung space

Lalbagh should remain what it has been for the past 250 years, a beautiful garden and a great lung space.

Karthik

Need maintenance

It is good to see Deccan Herald taking up the cause of saving Lalbagh. It is distressing to read that the botanical gardens will be ‘beautified’ in inappropriate way. Lalbagh and Cubbon Park that are beautiful by themselves need maintenance. I wonder what official version of beauty is.

Lalbagh should be cherished, preserved as heritage and not marred by nonsensical ‘facelifts.’ It is heartening to know that GSI is opposing the project. Hope good sense will prevail upon officers to stop the project.

Srikrishna Aiyar

Preserve for posterity

As a school teacher, I feel that construction of an amusement park is a colossal  waste and burden on Bangaloreans. It aggravates pollution. Already many old trees have been chopped under the pretext of widening roads, construction of metro rails, fly-overs, etc.
We should not disturb nature. Lalbagh should be preserved for posterity.

Kala, Yeshwanthpur

Why don’t they learn?

Let the government do not do anything to the natural beauty of the rock and old trees of Lalbagh.

Why not decision makers learn from their foreign trips to leave nature and maintain the gardens as they are? Should we do everything to attract tourists? We certainly do not want Santosa. Keeping the gardens clean is sufficient.

Ahalya Kumar