BENGALURU: The participants said that they are planning a larger protest at Freedom Park against the Tunnel Road project.
After forming two human chains at Lalbagh to protest the proposed tunnel road project, citizens and walkers on Sunday hugged the peninsular gneiss rock inside the park to register their opposition to the project.
The protest, led by the Lalbagh Walkers Association, highlighted what participants described as the potentially irreversible impact of the tunnel project on Bengaluru’s green cover, geological heritage and biodiversity.
The organisers said they were denied police permission to hold a protest inside the park this time and therefore chose to silently hug the ancient rock as a mark of protest. The protesters said the ancient Lalbagh rock, a geological formation dating back millions of years, could be vulnerable to damage from blasting and excavation associated with tunnel construction.
“Lalbagh is not just a park. It is the lungs and history of Bengaluru. Destroying millions of years of geological history and centuries of botanical heritage for concrete infrastructure is unacceptable. We demand that the entire Tunnel Road project be scrapped immediately to protect our environment,” said S Umesh, president of the Lalbagh Walkers Association.
Environment activist Dattatraya T Devare said, “The proposed Tunnel Road project between Hebbal and Silk Board, the short tunnel between Hebbal and Veterinary College, nine elevated corridors and the metro double-decker projects would permanently damage the environment. No detailed studies have been conducted by experts on these projects, and the consequences of these projects cannot be predicted.”
The participants said they are planning a larger protest at Freedom Park against the Tunnel Road project.