Cubbon Park is one of Bangalore’s iconic community spaces. It is actively used by people of all ages providing refuge from the hustle and bustle of city life. It is a 300-acre green haven that has been Bangalore’s most-loved space for decades.
The Horticulture Department has now issued new rules where visitors to the park can’t eat, play sports, take photos, or climb trees. And couples can’t be too close to each other.
We now have security guards blowing whistles and blaring instructions on loudspeakers to the groups they think are violating these bizarre rules. Does that seem like the quiet, green space we Bangaloreans yearn for?
“We've been receiving complaints by families (about public displays of affection by couples). The issue is not just decorum. It's also of safety as couples hide behind bushes, where snakes and insects could harm them” - Rajendra Kataria, Principal Secretary, Horticulture Department.
“The issue is not just decorum. It's also for safety as couples hide behind bushes, where snakes and insects could harm them” - a security guard.
The above comments seem like ways of moral policing masked with the excuse of safety. Instead, Cubbon Park should have more waste bins and instructions so visitors can throw their food waste in segregated bins.
Controlling how people make use of a community space like Cubbon Park will affect the way people use these spaces in the future. Parks are important recreational spaces in cities like Bangalore that are seeing reckless, unplanned development.
Join us in urging the Horticulture Department to roll back these rules and let Bangaloreans continue to enjoy what’s left of our precious green space in the city.
Source:
Cubbon Park is one of Bangalore’s iconic community spaces. It is actively used by people of all ages providing refuge from the hustle and bustle of city life. It is a 300-acre green haven that has been Bangalore’s most-loved space for decades.
The Horticulture Department has now issued new rules where visitors to the park can’t eat, play sports, take photos, or climb trees. And couples can’t be too close to each other.
We now have security guards blowing whistles and blaring instructions on loudspeakers to the groups they think are violating these bizarre rules. Does that seem like the quiet, green space we Bangaloreans yearn for?
“We've been receiving complaints by families (about public displays of affection by couples). The issue is not just decorum. It's also of safety as couples hide behind bushes, where snakes and insects could harm them” - Rajendra Kataria, Principal Secretary, Horticulture Department.
“The issue is not just decorum. It's also for safety as couples hide behind bushes, where snakes and insects could harm them” - a security guard.
The above comments seem like ways of moral policing masked with the excuse of safety. Instead, Cubbon Park should have more waste bins and instructions so visitors can throw their food waste in segregated bins.
Controlling how people make use of a community space like Cubbon Park will affect the way people use these spaces in the future. Parks are important recreational spaces in cities like Bangalore that are seeing reckless, unplanned development.
Join us in urging the Horticulture Department to roll back these rules and let Bangaloreans continue to enjoy what’s left of our precious green space in the city.
Source: