BENGALURU: In the wake of sustained campaign by people, Walkers Association and environmentalists, all land clearance work in a part of the Biodiversity Park of Bangalore University has come to a standstill. The work to clear a part of the park for the setting up the Inter-University Centre for Yogic Sciences on a leased land of 15 acres has now been halted.K L H Raya, president, Walkers Association, said, “Presently, the work has been stopped in the wake of our memorandum to the VC. But we will take up our protest again if they restart it.”
On March 17, the state government passed an order for handing over 15 acres of land to this Centre and on June 24, the land was leased to it for 30 years. However, this land fell inside the biodiversity park that was developed initially on 100 acres out of the total 650.The park is not just a lung space in this part, but is also a place for students and researchers to do their studies as this is a unique habitat for flora and fauna, a lecturer said. “This is a habitat that supports 150 bird species, 75 butterfly species, 80 medicinal herbs with fauna ranging from amphibians, reptiles to peacocks.”
T J Renuka Prasad, former coordinator of the Biodiversity Park, said, “People turned up in large numbers to protest and we even had a webinar which garnered a lot of support. The first time the protest was held, the work was stopped. However, with the threat of the work starting again, a second protest was held recently. Some 10,000 people have supported our cause on change.org. All the ground vegetation including aromatic and medicinal plants and some 60-70 wild date palm trees have been completely destroyed last month.”Although the university has stopped the work, a decision has been taken not to allow any further tree plantation in the campus, according to officials.