The news of Bengaluru Development Minister KJ George’s decision of the Karnataka government dropping its ambitious yet controversial Rs 1,791-crore steel flyover project came as a breath of fresh air for thousands of city peeps who were protesting against it.
The government that had earlier decided to go ahead with the flyover despite the opposition by Bengalureans, has now agreed to drop the Sankey Road – Hebbala Steel Flyover, saving the lives of thousands of trees and giving a huge respite to the environment conscious citizens.
Priya Chetty-Rajagopal feels fortunate to have sparked the initial thrust to the Steel Flyover Beda campaign. “This is the moment of deep gratitude. We’re all working people who started this campaign on October 6 and. Although we’re a small microcosm of the city, we stood up for the city and its people. Now it means that the government has understood that the citizens have a voice and they want to be listened to. We have also been asking for other things for the development of the city. After the Steelflyoverbeda campaign, we also started the Chikku-bukku-beku (I want a train) and Busbeku (I want a bus) for the citizens of Bengaluru. What started with a handful of us became the voice of the city and everyone came together. It was apolitical and now we must look forward to partner with the government to make things better for the citizens,” says Priya who has been involved with many social causes for the city’s upliftment.
Prakash Belawadi, Naresh V Narasimhan, Mansi Paresh Kumar and many others have been shouting from the rooftops to stand up for the city and its people.
Theatre and film actor and director Prakash Belawadi who had raised his voice against the flyover that would have otherwise been an eyesore for the city, shares, “It just shows that citizen protests that are genuine, not politically-motivated will be heard. But it also puts onus on us citizens to help the government whenever it reaches out positively and genuinely to make Bengaluru better.”
The prayers and protests of many people who were opposing the flyover due to the suspected environmental disaster it spelt for Bengaluru have finally been answered.
Naresh V Narasimhan, Venkataramanan Associates states, “The people of Bengaluru worked hard and this announcement has showed that it’s the dawn of a new voice. Bengaluru is listening to our voice. Public opinion is starting to influence the city that we all dream of. We have to preserve the city for our future generations. We can be role models if we continue this way and we thank the government and the chief minister. This is called true leadership when one is never afraid to admit that one made a mistake.”
Nupur Tandon, Pro- Waste concepts adds, “My biggest concern was the trees. With the present weather conditions, Bengaluru could not afford losing its green and I’m so relieved to hear this news.”
