It seems that with the chief minister announcing the launch of Indira Canteens on August 15, the civic administration is in a hurry to allocate land for the project. So much so that even parks are being destroyed to make way for the canteens.
Two such instances have been reported by residents in Vijayanagar and Chandra Layout.
In Vijayanagar, three trees were uprooted in a park close to the metro station last Saturday to make way for a canteen. Further work was stopped after residents stepped in, but, much to their chagrin, the earth movers were back on Friday.
“Around 15 residents stopped the work today, but unless higher-ups step in, the park will be destroyed," said Raju Shetty, a resident of Vijayanagar. Residents submitted a complaint to the BBMP commissioner's office on Friday.
Nagesh, Ward Engineer, Vijayanagar said that only a portion of the park was being used and the park is not used by residents. "One tree will be cut on Saturday. The three that were cut are young ones," he said. He said officials had zeroed in on the park as there is no other suitable place and ward engineers have been given a deadline of one month to complete the work.
In Chandra Layout, a portion of a park on 80 Feet Road (close to the BBMP ward office) was cleared to make way for an Indira Canteen. "Nearly half the park has been cleared to make way for the concrete structure," said a resident.
Manoj Ranjan, Special Commissioner for BBMP in charge of the Indira Canteen project, said that officials had been given standing instructions not to cut trees unless it is inevitable. "If there is no other option, senior engineers will examine the same on a case-to-case basis," he said. He added that a notified park could not be modified but in case of an open area being used by the public, officials are permitted to use the space. Mr. Ranjan said he would examine the cases and take it up with the officials concerned.
