Walkers in Bengaluru’s Cubbon Park were disappointed after the Karnataka government told the Karnataka High Court that it is not possible to stop vehicular movement inside the park.
“Cubbon Park and Lal Bhag are two places where Bengaluru gets fresh air in the heart of the city. By allowing traffic the government is destroying Cubbon Park. We got Cubbon Park in a good condition from the previous generation, so now is it not our responsibility to preserve it for posterity? We will definitely not accept this and we will challenge this in the near future,” Umesh S, High Court lawyer and the president of Cubbon Park Walkers’ Association told TNM
Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Development Department, Rakesh Singh submitted an affidavit to the same effect, reported Deccan Herald. This as the HC was hearing a plea made by Cubbon Park Walkers Association had gone to court demanding a permanent traffic ban within the park premises.
It may be recalled that on May 18, 2020 Cubbon Park was opened to walkers but the ban on vehicles however remained until May 23, 2020. Since then, citizen groups had sought to make the ban on motor vehicles inside Cubbon park permanent but the government did not accept it.
Even the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT), a state government body, had recommended closing Cubbon Park for motor vehicles in September, 2020, as reported in TNM.
According to the report in The Hindu, the Cubbon Park Walkers’ Association had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) requesting the court to direct the government to consider their representation based on the DULT’s recommendation.
The report further stated that the court directed the government on October 22, 2020 to consider the representation.
In September, 2020 a report by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) had also called for a ban of motorised traffic in Cubbon Park.