BENGALURU: Members of All Saints Church and citizens across the city joined hands to save hundreds of trees from being axed for a Metro project.They marched from Vellara Junction to Brigade Road, protesting against the cutting down of at least 100 trees, which are under the threat of being axed to make way for the underground Metro station for the Gottigere-Nagwara line.
Besides, the Metro line will even demolish a school that caters to 60 special children.According to the church members, on May 25, BMRCL MD Ajay Seth sent a letter that if the temporary acquisition of the land is not allowed then they will go in for the permanent acquisiton.
“It was a threatening document sent to the Bishop. How can BMRCL threaten us?
We are not against development but we are against the axing of trees,” said K S Franklin, congregation member of the church.
Ebenezer Premkumar, former congregation member, said, “As per the DPR, the Metro was to run under Hosur Road. But later the plan was changed to bring the alignment inside the church compound, which will result in the chopping of trees. Instead, they can shift the plan by 70m from Vellara Station into an Army land nearby.”
The protesters held placards that read: ‘Beku Beku Heritage Beku’ and ‘Cut the greed not the green’, among others.