Opponents of the proposed steel flyover project — connecting Hebbal and Basaveshwara Circle — are planning to scale up their protest.
Citizens for Bengaluru, which is engaged in a legal battle on the issue, claims the support of 56 residents’ welfare associations (RWAs), 14 of which are in north Bengaluru, around the 6.9-km route from areas such as Sanjaynagar, Malleswaram, Sadashivanagar, and R.T. Nagar.
Theatre personality Prakash Belawadi, who is a part of the CfB, said, “The State government still claims that many support the project. We know it is not true. We have asked RWAs and NGOs to pass official resolutions on their opinion of the steel flyover which we will submit to the government.” The organisation aims to increase its vigilance through an initiative called Niga (meaning vigil in Kannada).
Niga will not limit itself to the steel flyover, but will take up a wide range of issues and projects that are “adversely affecting” the city.
For instance, the plans include an installation of between 50 and 100 air pollution monitoring stations; the testing of waters in existing lakes; and testing of soil and health of trees. “While researching the legalities of the steel flyover project, we realised that the State is undertaking many such projects which will effectively destroy the city ... We will be raising funds through crowd funding. As a priority, we will measure the soil and health of the trees along the route of the (proposed) steel flyover,” said architect Naresh Narasimhan. Meanwhile, Sunday will see the launch of ‘Art for children and art by children’ at the Palace Grounds where visitors can paint and draw their vision of the city with artist S.G. Vasudev.
