In the name of Development

My first visit to Bangalore in the early 90’s, was a memorable experience. The traffic was much less. There was lot of greenery around. I simply fell in love with Bangalore.

I used to wonder why Chennai does not have the same amount of green cover as that of Bangalore. There are two major parks in Bangalore which it can be proud of: Lalbagh and the Cubbon park. In contrast there was nothing in Chennai. I used to consider Chennai as a desert when compared to Bangalore.

Years have passed by. Bangalore has become one of the major cities in the south. Lot of development has happened over a period of time. What is the cost that Bangalore has paid for all this development? There is so much of pollution; the green cover in the city has reduced considerably. The climate in Bangalore is no longer the same.

Adding to the problem is the Namma Metro rail project, the alignment of which necessitates felling of trees and acquisition of land belonging to the Lalbagh botanical gardens. Huge numbers of trees are going to be removed from Lalbagh to facilitate Metro rail project. Many Bangaloreans have vehemently protested against cutting of trees in Lalbagh. Earlier, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) had also proposed to cut nearly 3000 trees to make a road through Gandhi Krishi Vigyan Kendra (GKVK) campus.

Why can’t we have an underground passage for Metro rail throughout the city? It will involve some extra cost. But certainly it would not affect the environment. Even if the politicians forego 2% of what they make in a year, the additional cost of laying the metro can be met. In London most of the rail network is under the ground.

If our politicians have some sense left, they should try to construct the metro under the ground. They should try to implement all engineering projects with minimum environmental impact. If we continue to cut the trees and spoil the environment, it would have catastrophic effects on the next generation. Hope we realize this and take some positive measures.