A group of people from diverse backgrounds met on Sunday with one aim: to save Cubbon Park.
Members of Heritage Beku, Parikrama Humanity Foundation, Runners High community and I Change My City were among those who gathered in the morning to discuss ways of preserving the heritage of the park, which, they said, is in danger due to concretisation. The latest is the proposed seven-storey annexe to the building of the High Court of Karnataka, they said.
“Construction by violating heritage is not necessary. What we need is certain heritage laws and guidelines to be incorporated that we can all abide by. Cubbon Park is a community point. There is a sense of diverse culture here. It is antique and staggering, and as citizens of Bengaluru, we need to be certain that these atrocities on culture and heritage stop. The only way we can resolve this is by structurally and systematically raising a voice of concern, voice of anguish. I don’t like to define our concern as a protest, but a voice of culture and heritage,” said Priya Chetty Rajagopal from Heritage Beku.
The students of Parikrama Humanity Foundation also joined in to voice their concerns. “I am pro nature. If we build more, we will lose heritage. We are here to save Cubbon Park from construction and also to create awareness among the youth to save our heritage,” said Richard, a student of Parikrama Humanity School.
“We don’t want you to concretise open spaces. Let the greenery stay and let us not reduce the oxygen of the city,” said Anu Talati, a member of Runners High community.
“Cubbon Park is an identity of Bengaluru. What will be left of the city if this gets demolished? We all should preserve it because development is just not having constructed plenty of infrastructure, but also saving heritage for future generations,” said Biju Cherayath, an artist who participated in the protest.
