Bengaluru Cubbon Park abandoned to eerie darkness

CCTV cameras were to be placed at 100 spots here but government agencies pass the responsibility to another; 300-acre spread therefore has weak security in place

(Top) The park gets dark quickly under wide canopies and thick bamboo clusters; (Above) People are also few in the evening hours, raising safety concerns | NAGARAJA GADEKAL

BENGALURU: In September 2015, two security guards, on the pretext of showing a 30-year-old woman the way out of Cubbon Park, took her to an isolated place and allegedly gang-raped her inside the premises. A demand to install CCTV cameras inside the park has been around  since 2013, and it gained urgency after this incident.

But even today, the installation proposal remains on paper. When The New Indian Express asked who is responsible for implementing this, different government wings pointed to another – the police directed us to the Horticulture Department, the Horticulture Department to BESCOM, BESCOM to BBMP and BBMP (back) to Horticulture Department.

Meanwhile, the 300-acre park with eight entry/exit points – from MG Road, Kasturba Road, Hudson Circle and Ambedkar Veedhi (Road) – remains unsafe.

At present, there are a few police personnel and 22 security guards from Horticulture Department to stop vehicle theft, chain-snatching and assault. Their numbers are woefully short as traffic through the park has increased.

A source from the Horticulture Department admitted that the proposal to install the cameras has been around since 2013, and the demand intensified since 2015 after the gang-rape. “But, we have not been able to install these till date,” the source said.

The Cubbon Park police authorities said that guaranteeing security in this vast space is challenging. On weekends or days on which cricket matches are held, with Chinnaswamy Stadium adjacent, this gets all the more difficult. Cricket lovers park their vehicles inside the park. The police believe that the Horticulture Department should put in place a security infrastructure. A police officer, on condition of anonymity said, “We too face a staff crunch. We do deploy personnel during weekends and for special occasions, but cannot provide security through the year”.

Horticulture Department believes it is Bescom’s (Bangalore Electricity Supply Company) responsibility. Deputy Director of Horticulture Department (Cubbon Park) Mahantesh Murgod said that Bescom has to install CCTV cameras at 100 different locations and LED light at 700 places.

Bescom authorities, on the other hand, think that this falls in BBMP’s kitty. Lakshminarayana, Bescom DGM, said installing lamp posts or CCTVs comes under BBMP. “We can only provide the power
supply,” he said.

BBMP has a different version. “The Horticulture Department should put CCTV cameras, as it is their property,” said Mayor Sampath Raj.