Smart or sordid? Debate rages on revamp of Cubbon Park

A Smart City barricade is seen in the backdrop of construction work at Cubbon Park, Bengaluru's premier green space, on July 9, 2021. Credit: DH file photo/Pushkar V

An inclusive sensory park among other attractions are coming up at Bal Bhavan, a recreation centre at the Queen's Circle entrance of Cubbon Park, in Bengaluru. Credit: DH Photo/B K Janardhan

Smart city works in Cubbon Park are in jeopardy following allegations that the authorities are harming the ecology of Bengaluru’s premier lung space.

Walkers and regular visitors say Bengaluru Smart City Limited (BenSCL) has ignored the fundamental characteristics, topography and ecology of Cubbon Park’s different places where it’s carrying out development works. BenSCL denies the accusations, calling them “unnecessary distractions”.

Parts of the 300-acre Cubbon Park are being spruced up and getting new attractions under a Smart Cities Mission project that began two years ago. The project has been going on in two phases, each costing Rs 17 crore. While swales (rainwater canals), ponds and pathways and bridges are being redone, new theme gardens, natural and heritage trails, smog towers and recreation points are also coming up.

Environmentalists’ grouse is that the works aren’t holistic. “Cubbon Park is a major lung space and has a history of its own,” says noted environmentalist Suresh Heblikar. “It’s the natural wetlands, ponds, bunds, depressions (sunken places), bamboo, grass, shrubs and other trees that make Cubbon Park what it is. Any intervention there will disturb the park’s biodiversity and ecological balance,” he explained, saying they should be left undisturbed.

An expert suggested that BenSCL had neither understood the park’s topography nor got a hydrology report done before starting the work. “A hydrology report will tell you about the water flow, how much water is available, the drainage and other aspects related to water,” said Dr Inayathulla M, Director of Water Institute at the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE). “Given the ecological sensitivity of the Cubbon Park, it’s important to plan the works based on this report.”

BenSCL insists the report was never a part of the project. “Neither we nor the experts from the horticulture department saw the need for a hydrology report because we weren’t making massive changes,” a senior official said.

Regular visitors, however, say the wetlands are “certainly being disturbed”. Sunitha Kumar, a member of the Cubbon Park Walkers’ Association, gives an example. As against the earlier plan of building bridges on wetlands, storage structures are being put up there. “This will disturb the wetlands, which help maintain the groundwater table,” Kumar said.

The association’s president, Umesh S, is unsparing in his criticism of the project. “The smart city works have become a money-making business, and there are efforts to concretise the entire park,” he said.

He suggested that exotic and unwanted plants that were never seen in the park are being planted. “The native variety of grass has been removed and replaced with Mexican grass,” Umesh said. “It does nothing but spoil the biodiversity of the park.”

Another issue is the removal of a large number of bamboo trees from and around Bal Bhavan, a recreation centre for children located at the Queen’s Circle entrance of Cubbon Park. “The area was called a bamboo island, and many bird species and reptiles called it home,” Kumar said. “The bamboo trees have been cleared, and hardly 10% of them have been replaced.”

That’s not all. In many places, palm trees have been planted instead of bamboo. According to Kumar, the tree clusters help in carbon dioxide sequestration, thereby controlling the rising temperatures. Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere so that the mercury doesn’t rise. The Bal Bhavan plans were not made public either, Kumar adds.

BenSCL Managing Director Rajendra P Cholan says they did not go for public consultation on Bal Bhavan works because that was the responsibility of the Karnataka Bal Bhavan Society.

According to him, unlike Cubbon Park, Bal Bhavan has a committee and office-bearers who make the decisions. And works at Bal Bhavan began only after the society gave the go-ahead, he adds. But all works taken up outside of Bal Bhavan had umpteen public consultations, he insists.

The society’s chairperson Chikkamma Basavaraj, too, dismissed the accusation, saying the work plans were approved by experts. “We consulted experts and environmentalists before starting the work. It is nearly impossible to reach out to every citizen,” she explained.

She justified the razing of the bamboo grove, saying the aim was to prevent fires. “The bamboo that was cut down was over 100 years old and could have caused fire accidents. Considering the visitors’ safety, we had to cut it down,” Chikkamma said.

To compensate it, “enough” bamboo trees are being planted at suitable locations keeping in mind the original nature of Cubbon Park, she said.

The all-round criticism has put BenSCL in a corner, and officials are at pains to make their case.

“All the works are scientific and were taken up only after taking suggestions from experts,” said Vinayak Sugur, Chief Engineer, BenSCL.

Another official called the developments “disheartening and discouraging”. “It becomes difficult to work when people doubt whatever you do. We care about the ecology of Cubbon Park and will make sure it is preserved,” the official said.

According to the official, the project started nearly two years ago but there hasn't been much progress because of these disruptions. “We did public consultation before taking up the works and took all the suggestions. What else could we do?”

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