Citizens rally against felling of 368 trees in Cantonment Railway Colony

Bengaluru: On Thursday, over 50 people gathered at Gandhi Bhavan to protest the proposed felling of 368 trees at the Cantonment Railway Colony in Vasanth Nagar.

The tree felling has been proposed to facilitate a commercial railway development project.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) issued a public notice regarding the plan on April 25.

As the trees cover a significant portion of the Cantonment premises, the move has raised concerns among local residents and environmentalists, who fear it will further deplete Bengaluru’s already dwindling green cover.

After the demonstration at Gandhi Bhavan, the crowd visited the railway colony, symbolically hugged the trees, and raised slogans like ‘Save Trees, Save Bengaluru.’ Multiple citizen groups and environmental organisations, including Vruksha Foundation and Parisarakagi Navu, participated.

Environmental activist Alexander James, in his 60s, recalled planting about 20 trees in the colony as a child. “This was about 20–25 years ago. Back then, there was Miller’s Tank here, and the spot was beautiful. Today, the colony is home to over 60 heritage trees,” he said.

Activists protest at the colony premises on Thursday. DH PHOTO/RANJU P

A public consultation on the matter is scheduled for Tuesday, involving citizens, the Forest Department, and railway officials. Residents hope the meeting, convened by Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre, will not be “a mere eyewash”.

“Several such consultations have happened, but little has changed. We hope the authorities reconsider the project after seeing how important these trees are — not just for cleaner air and lowering temperatures, but also for recharging the water table,” said Vinod Jacob, General Manager, Namma Bengaluru Foundation.