Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Tuesday announced that all 1,200 neighbourhood parks in Bengaluru will remain open for 17 hours a day — from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. — on all days.
Mr. Shivakumar, who also holds the portfolio of Bengaluru City Development, said that extending the park timings was a long-pending demand of citizens. At present parks are open only during certain hours of the day. There was a request to keep these public places open even in the afternoon. Now, most of the parks remain open from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 3.30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
However, the new timings are not applicable to Cubbon Park, which comes under the Horticulture Department, he said.
He directed the civic body to fix all dysfunctional street lights and deploy security personnel to guard open spaces to prevent any anti-social activity.
A few residents’ associations have complained that students would skip classes and spend time in parks in the afternoons when there are few walkers. It was also found that students celebrate the birthdays of their classmates and friends in parks.
Mr. Shivakumar claimed that the extension of hours would also help government or private firm employees to use the parks.
The Deputy Chief Minister directed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to fix dysfunctional street lights in all parks and on roads. Authorities had also fixed cameras at the entrances of all parks, he said. Residents can complain to the BBMP by calling the helpline numbers 22660000 or 22221188 and also provide information on WhatsApp number 9480685700.
Mr. Shivakumar launched a ‘mapathon’ to enable the BBMP to actively involve local community members to identify potential green spaces on empty sites. A pilot project is being planned in the Bommanahalli zone and more details would be published on the BBMP website soon, he said.
On the progress of the tree census, Mr. Shivakumar said a total of 94,000 trees had been enumerated so far in two wards of Vidyapeetha and Kathriguppe in Bommanahalli Zone, The survey would be completed by the end of 2024.
Environment Day
The BBMP would organise a programme to mark World Environment Day on June 14 at Bal Bhavan in the city. More than two lakh plants would be planted. The programme could not be held on June 5 owing to the enforcement of the model code of conduct, he said.
The BBMP has planned to involve more schoolchildren to reach the target of planting the saplings. The civic body planted 52,000 saplings in 2023 by involving close to 250 schools, Mr. Shivakumar said.
