BENGALURU: Citizens have adopted myriad ways to protest against the Sankey flyover like writing to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and hugging trees on Valentine’s Day. On Sunday, they had an ingenious idea of dressing up in black, and clicking a selfie with the lake. The pictures were posted on social media with the hashtag “savesankey”.
They contended that the flyover will not resolve the traffic woes and will only kill the series of trees along Sankey lake. Among the hundreds of citizens who participated in the protest were childrens, who were also dressed up in black to express solidarity. They were at Sankey lake early morning and walked along the Sankey Tank, marking their protest against the construction of the flyover. Actor-singer Vasundhara Das, a resident of Malleswaram, participated in the protest.
Noting that the city has drastically lost its green cover, Das said that many trees have to be axed for the construction of the flyover, and the residents are against the move. “Residents urged Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike and other decision-makers to hold a series of public consultations and to find out alternative solutions to the flyover that protects the interest of the people and does not harm the environment.
While the BBMP stated this project is with the Bangalore Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA), this project, less than a week ago, has been sent to the forest department for its approval for felling trees. This indicates they intend to go ahead with the project. Our advocacy will continue until our concerns are addressed, and this project is stopped,” said Kimsuka from the Citizens for Sankey.