In support of a green campus

Tree Walk campaigns to preserve the campus of Attakulangara school

Poet Sugathakumari addresses a meeting organised by Tree Walk and the old students of Government Central School, Attakulangara, to ‘save the school campus from bus bay and shopping complex projects,’ in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. Photo: S. Mahinsha

Never has the spotlight shone so bright on the fate of Government Central School, Attakulangara.

With a large portion of the school campus under threat of being overrun by concrete and steel, there is a swelling tide of support for it — an army of city residents who are up in arms against the decision of the government to build a bus bay and a shopping complex there.

Spearheading this movement is Tree Walk Thiruvananthapuram, which organised a meeting at Gandhi Park here on Sunday evening to drum up more support for its campaign ‘Save the Government Central School – Green Lung and Heritage Site of Thiruvananthapuram.’

Choir performance

A musical tribute by the MBS Youth Choir brought late evening shoppers in the East Fort area to Gandhi Park. They watched and listened to the implications of the project being undertaken by the Thiruvananthapuram Development Authority. A video documentary on the school campus titled ‘Verukal Murikkumbol’ was screened on the occasion.

Former students of the 125-year-old institution who were present at the meeting were angered not only by the impact of the project on the ecology and the heritage of the campus but also the ‘negligence’ of the government towards improving the school’s facilities over the past many years.

Poet B. Sugathakumari, a prominent figure in the campaign, questioned the definition of development followed by those in power. “Mountains are being blown up and paddy fields destroyed, but who is listening,” she asked, criticising the powerful lobby of quarry owners in the State, and the impact of their activities on the environment.

‘An oasis’

Ms. Sugathakumari described East Fort as one of the most congested and polluted parts of the city, and the Attakulangara school campus as a green oasis that should be preserved.

B. Hridayakumari, the poet’s sister and retired English lecturer, was also present. She was critical of policies that lacked long-term vision. Poor planning would lead to disastrous consequences, with the first victims being the voiceless – the poor and the underprivileged — and the environment. “They seem to have plenty of funds but it is not directed to the right places. There are higher secondary schools without adequate facilities – be it laboratories or even access to clean toilets,” she said.

The Tree Walk collective has inventoried the number of trees and species flourishing at the Attakulangara school. It was in the forefront of another campaign against cutting of trees for road widening at Vanchiyoor last year.