Partners: Namma Bengaluru Foundation
Updates:
June 14, 2024: K-Ride held a public consultation to discuss the Suburban Rail project on June 14th. During the meeting, various stakeholders raised important points, and K-RIDE agreed to explore forming a committee to mitigate the ecological impact of the project. Members of Jhatkaa.org and Namma Bengaluru Foundation met Dr Manjula N. IAS, Managing Director of K-Ride and presented the petition to her.
5286 Objections have been sent as of 13 June, 2024
16 May, 2024: The Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Ltd (K-RIDE), which is implementing the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project (BSRP), will hold a public consultation meeting on June 14 to disseminate information on the project. The venue for the public consultation is Anugraha Community Hall at MG Railway Colony.
Decision Maker: Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP)
Karnataka Rail Infrastructure Development Company Limited (K-Ride)
Demands:
Attempt to minimize the number of trees slated to be chopped
Undertake appropriate compensatory plantation
Transplant as many trees as possible, rather than a selected few
Follow Karnataka Tree preservation Act 1976
It’s been a difficult few months for Bengaluru with the onset of 2024. What started as a water crisis was very soon compounded by severe heat waves and unbearable temperatures. To add to these woes, a single rainfall in the first week of May 2024 has yet again exposed the inadequate infrastructure of India’s IT Hub. Citizens struggled with waterlogging and traffic snarls, after the first rainshower that was supposed to provide a relief from the scorching heat.
Extreme weather events such as those described above have become commonplace in Bengaluru and there are numerous factors to blame. Among them, poorly planned infrastructural development is one. The city has struggled with merciless felling of trees for years now, and the situation only seems to be getting worse.
What’s the issue?
Authorities have earmarked close to 33,000 trees in Bengaluru, which could face the axe, for the construction of the Suburban Network Project to begin. The 148-km long Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project (BSRP), which is being implemented by Rail Infrastructure Development Company-Karnataka (KRide), requires four corridors to be constructed. While the project is significant to reduce dependence on private vehicles and enhance sustainable mobility and efficient commute alternatives, the ecological cost is mammoth!
For instance, in KSR Bengaluru City-Yelahanka-Devanahalli 7,198 trees have been identified to be chopped, while corridor two (Baiyappanahalli terminal-Chikkabanavara) has marked 3,469 trees, and so on. Overall, 15,045 trees are proposed for removal across these four corridors. That’s not all- for the construction of depots which will be required for the network, thousands of trees have been marked to be felled, including some in parts of a forest.
What can you do?
Trees are very important for the ecosystem- they help combat air pollution, mitigate the heat-island effect and provide oxygen. Chopping close to 33,000 trees could prove to be disastrous for Bengaluru, a city already bearing the brunt of the climate crisis.
We’re urging the BBMP, K-Ride and tree authorities to look into this urgently. It is imperative to undertake rigorous measures to ensure ecological preservation, keeping the Karnataka Tree Preservation Act of 1976 in mind. Authorities must re-consider the sheer number of trees identified to be cut, undertake appropriate compensatory plantation and transplant as many felled trees as possible.
Sign this petition and join the movement to ensure a balance between development and ecological preservation.
Sources:
P.S. We advocate for a balance between development and ecological preservation. Trees are vital to life and must not be the price we have to pay for infrastructure development. We cannot save the environment without your support. Any amount, no matter how small, goes a long way in ensuring we are able to sustain our efforts in the long run. Donate Now!
Partners: Namma Bengaluru Foundation
Updates:
June 14, 2024: K-Ride held a public consultation to discuss the Suburban Rail project on June 14th. During the meeting, various stakeholders raised important points, and K-RIDE agreed to explore forming a committee to mitigate the ecological impact of the project. Members of Jhatkaa.org and Namma Bengaluru Foundation met Dr Manjula N. IAS, Managing Director of K-Ride and presented the petition to her.
5286 Objections have been sent as of 13 June, 2024
16 May, 2024: The Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Ltd (K-RIDE), which is implementing the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project (BSRP), will hold a public consultation meeting on June 14 to disseminate information on the project. The venue for the public consultation is Anugraha Community Hall at MG Railway Colony.
Decision Maker: Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP)
Karnataka Rail Infrastructure Development Company Limited (K-Ride)
Demands:
Attempt to minimize the number of trees slated to be chopped
Undertake appropriate compensatory plantation
Transplant as many trees as possible, rather than a selected few
Follow Karnataka Tree preservation Act 1976
It’s been a difficult few months for Bengaluru with the onset of 2024. What started as a water crisis was very soon compounded by severe heat waves and unbearable temperatures. To add to these woes, a single rainfall in the first week of May 2024 has yet again exposed the inadequate infrastructure of India’s IT Hub. Citizens struggled with waterlogging and traffic snarls, after the first rainshower that was supposed to provide a relief from the scorching heat.
Extreme weather events such as those described above have become commonplace in Bengaluru and there are numerous factors to blame. Among them, poorly planned infrastructural development is one. The city has struggled with merciless felling of trees for years now, and the situation only seems to be getting worse.
What’s the issue?
Authorities have earmarked close to 33,000 trees in Bengaluru, which could face the axe, for the construction of the Suburban Network Project to begin. The 148-km long Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project (BSRP), which is being implemented by Rail Infrastructure Development Company-Karnataka (KRide), requires four corridors to be constructed. While the project is significant to reduce dependence on private vehicles and enhance sustainable mobility and efficient commute alternatives, the ecological cost is mammoth!
For instance, in KSR Bengaluru City-Yelahanka-Devanahalli 7,198 trees have been identified to be chopped, while corridor two (Baiyappanahalli terminal-Chikkabanavara) has marked 3,469 trees, and so on. Overall, 15,045 trees are proposed for removal across these four corridors. That’s not all- for the construction of depots which will be required for the network, thousands of trees have been marked to be felled, including some in parts of a forest.
What can you do?
Trees are very important for the ecosystem- they help combat air pollution, mitigate the heat-island effect and provide oxygen. Chopping close to 33,000 trees could prove to be disastrous for Bengaluru, a city already bearing the brunt of the climate crisis.
We’re urging the BBMP, K-Ride and tree authorities to look into this urgently. It is imperative to undertake rigorous measures to ensure ecological preservation, keeping the Karnataka Tree Preservation Act of 1976 in mind. Authorities must re-consider the sheer number of trees identified to be cut, undertake appropriate compensatory plantation and transplant as many felled trees as possible.
Sign this petition and join the movement to ensure a balance between development and ecological preservation.
Sources:
P.S. We advocate for a balance between development and ecological preservation. Trees are vital to life and must not be the price we have to pay for infrastructure development. We cannot save the environment without your support. Any amount, no matter how small, goes a long way in ensuring we are able to sustain our efforts in the long run. Donate Now!