The Beku Beda Santhe, an event that aims to bring together those who have been fighting for various civic issues, got off to a grand start on Sunday.
Hundreds of residents turned up for the event, which was organised to mark one year of the Steel Flyover Beda protest.
The protest was organised in 2016 to oppose the construction of a steel flyover, which would have led to the felling of 812 trees. The 6.7-km-long, six-lane project, from the busy Basaveshwara circle to Hebbal junction in Bengaluru, was cleared by the Cabinet in September 2016.
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Event organiser Tara Krishnaswamy welcomed all the groups that were associated with the Beku Beda project. She said that this day was a day about citizen rights and that every citizen had a right to claim what they want from their government. “Children, especially have a claim to Bengaluru and we want them to ask for their rights.”
Santhosh Hegde, Lokayukta chief quoted Patrick Henry and said that Constitution is an instrument for people to control the government. “Earlier the government was for the people, by the people and of the people. Now it’s become a government of some people, by some people, and for some people. When people fight against certain moves of the government and demand their rights is when society develops. People’s pressure is required for the govt to know what the people want. This was what the Flyover Beda project proved last year. Again, the government is planning for two more steel flyovers which needs to be (sic) protested against by us as people.”