Citizens for Bengaluru to participate in hunger strike for steel flyover campaign

It looks like Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB), the forum spearheading the #steelflyoverbeda campaign, will not rest until the project is scrapped.
File photo of citizens protesting against the proposed steel flyover
File photo of citizens protesting against the proposed steel flyover

BENGALURU: It looks like Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB), the forum spearheading the #steelflyoverbeda campaign, will not rest until the project is scrapped. CfB announced its further course of action on Monday to keep the momentum of the campaign alive.

Come November 6, they are all set to take the Gandhian way and launch a satyagraha in a massive way wherein citizens will sit on a day-long hunger strike with their single-point demand: to scrap the tender. However, the venue is yet to be decided.

CfB will also conduct a short film competition on the topic and the winning filmmakers will be offered an opportunity to work with Kannada film director Pawan Kumar in his future feature film projects. Their calendar of events also includes an RTI campaign, consultation with resident welfare associations, a rally by school and college students among others.

“This satyagraha will be one of the largest movements that this city has witnessed against an urban infrastructure project so far,” said actor and theatre person Prakash Belawadi.  Denying any party politics, architect Naresh Narasimhan said, “We are opposing the project just because it will not serve any purpose in easing the traffic.”

The short film competition will be themed ‘Yaake Beda’. Belawadi said, “Pawan Kumar Studios has joined the CfB campaign. Film enthusiasts and film students can make a one-min short film on ‘Steel Flyover Yaake Beda’, covering the project’s drawbacks, including the environmental impact. The three best films will be picked by a jury and the winning filmmakers will be offered an opportunity to work with Pawan Kumar.”

Besides, CfB will see citizen engagement in the campaign as an opportunity to bring to light all aspects of the project covering design, due process and feasibility. On the eve of Children’s Day, CfB will conduct an event called, ‘Namagaagi Ulisi - Save it for Us’ carnival on November 13 wherein they will celebrate Bengaluru. A rally by students of schools and colleges will be conducted on the same day.

The recent National Green Tribunal stay on the steel flyover is seen a major win for citizens opposing the project. Now CfB will form a professional panel of independent experts from the Indian Institute of Science and other such institutions to make the environment assessment report that will be submitted to the NGT and government agencies concerned including the BDA in three weeks time.

Welcoming the NGT ruling that insists on a environmental clearance for the proposed steel flyover, Belawadi said, “The environmental impact assessment report prepared by the experts will be valuable in court proceedings and NGT hearing as well.”

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