BENGALURU: Days after a meeting with Mayor Goutham Kumar on February 8, citizens have submitted a letter to officials asking for changes in the smart city project project. They also asked for additional changes with regard to the development and maintenance of Cubbon Park.The letter was sent to the Mayor, MP PC Mohan, MLA Rizwan Arshad, MD Bengaluru Smart City, Horticulture commissioner, Deputy Director Cubbon park, BBMP Commissioner, and Principal Secretary of Agriculture and Horticulture.
The letter, submitted by Cubbon Park Walkers Association, had details like not adding play areas as there is already an existing one, no requirement of stone clad ground around large trees for yoga spots, no biogas plant, new signages should be made only with wood, funds spent on the park to be made transparent, to spend the entire budget of cubbon park smart city project — Rs 40 crore — not only on the park but also on all other parks, and no privatisation or commercialisation in the park.
Umesh S, president, Cubbon Park Walkers’ Association said, “The park just needs maintenance and nothing more. They should ban vehicles inside the park to avoid pollution. It is a beautiful lung space and we must let it be without changing it.”Priya Chetty Rajagopal, member of Heritage Beku said, “More than yoga slabs, we need water conservation — rain water harvesting, waterways, watersheds, irrigation & sprinkling, wetland filtration systems.”
Deputy Director of the Horticulture Department, Cubbon Park, Kusuma G, said, “We have taken some of the inputs and taken down the smog towers and yoga slab idea. We will come out with a detailed outcome.”