BENGALURU: Residents of CK Layout in Sahakarnagar were distressed when a banyan tree in the area, which some claim is over 100 years old, was chopped on Wednesday. A Forest Department official said the tree was chopped with their permission as an indoor stadium was coming up in the area. Residents had preferred a park in the area.
Antony Das, a resident, said none of the residents were informed or consulted before the tree was chopped. Another resident Venkatesan Iyengar said, “The government urges us to grow more trees and then does this.” Chandrappa, Deputy Range Forest Officer, Yelahanka, said that the department had given permission for the tree to be chopped for the indoor stadium.
A senior BBMP official in the know said as per the BDA’s Comprehensive Development Plan for the layout, the area has been marked for a ‘civic amenity,’ and hence there was a provision for an indoor stadium. Reacting to the opposition, a BBMP official said, “People will never give an opportunity to carry out work. They do not want to chop trees but still want the work to be done.”