The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : More than 1,000 trees on four roads to be felled

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Dec 22, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

More than 1,000 trees on four roads to be felled

Staff Reporter

It is the first time that their number has been made public

BANGALORE: Brace yourself for bare roads bereft of shade, as green cover in the city is all set to hit a new low in the next few months when more than 1,000 trees will be felled on four prominent roads notified for widening, according to an informal survey conducted by Environment Support Group (ESG).

While the news of trees being felled on these roads is not new, it is for the first time that the actual number of trees facing the axe has been made public.

Presenting the findings at a public consultation on “Road widening schemes of Bangalore: impacts and alternatives,” volunteers, who themselves surveyed the roads to be widened, said that an estimated 360 trees were to be axed on 1.2 km of Palace Road, 221 trees on 1.6 km of Racecourse Road, 225 trees on 1.65 km of Seshadri Road and about 200 trees on 1.6 km of Kasturba Road.

While promises are made about smooth rides on these wide roads, the plans for road-widening do not explain whether they have space earmarked for footpaths or for dedicated lanes.

Speaking on the occasion, the former adviser to the Planning Commission P.S.S. Thomas said that felling trees was unacceptable and termed it a “technical and low-level engineering solution.”

Joint Director (Town Planning) K.R. Veerendranath said that select roads needed to be widened so that buses could ply on them.

“But unfortunately even streets like Avenue Road are also being notified for widening,” he said.

Even though the High Court of Karnataka had said that Hasiru Usiru, an environmental organisation, should be consulted before a decision to fell trees was taken, road-widening on Bellary Road and T. Chowdiah Road was taken up arbitrarily, said Leo Saldanha of the ESG.

While sketches or survey plans of roads to be widened had to be displayed in public domain for 60 days, none had been made available, he pointed out.

Appeals to make public transport attractive and efficient were also made at the session.

Mr. Veerendranath said that while 75 per cent of vehicles on road were two wheelers, only .05 per cent were public transport.

“These buses carry 56 per cent of commuters in the city,” he said.

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