Two weeks ago, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) announced that they would fell trees at the entrance of Athashri Road from Swami Vivekananda Road in the city’s Whitefield area. The decision was taken to build a drainage system alongside the newly tarred roads. However, members of the citizens’ group Namma Whitefield severely opposed this. When their protests were heard by officials, the BBMP went back on their decision to cut down the trees and heeded the people’s demands.
The concrete drains that were initially proposed were to allow seepage of water, to avoid flooding. “The concreting of the road was completed two weeks back and the BBMP engineer had announced that they will build the concrete drains along the road. We were trying to get in touch with the officials but in vain. We finally posted our ordeal on the social media which garnered the official’s attention and met with him today (Saturday),” said Sandeep Anirudhan, the founder of Namma Whitefield.
After seeing their campaign, BBMP Major Roads Engineer Shri Ramakrishna Reddy did not only hold a meeting with the residents, they also inspected the area together and discussed their views on trees and the drain plan. Upon hearing their request to save the greenery, Reddy agreed to not touch the trees and saplings planted in the area.
Sandeep said, “Instead of a concrete drain, the road’s edge will be terminated with a concrete shoulder and the water will be allowed to seep into the soil bed, that will provide the trees required water. We were asked to submit a formal written representation to other BBMP officials including the Commissioner.” He further added that the existing drain on the opposite side will be repaired and concrete walls will be added around it. “The adjoining trees and saplings would not be harmed either,” he added.
Additionally, the citizens requested for speed breakers on the road to avoid accidents due to speeding. They were assured that the Traffic Cell will look into at the earliest, after receiving written notification from the citizens. The official also assured citizens that the saplings and trees on the adjoining road, the GR Tech Park road, will be protected too, with arrangements for more saplings to be planted in the works. Citizens took to Facebook to thank BBMP and express their joy.
TNM tried to contact the Shri Ramakrishna Reddy, but he remained unavailable for comment.