Bengaluru: Thousands of people have signed an online petition demanding Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) stop the acquisition of the land belonging to All Saints Church to build the Vellara Junction underground metro station. But nothing has changed and the BMRCL is continuing with its work at the spot.
The petition states that the church compound, which is a heritage structure, hosts a school for special children and BMRCL would demolish the school in the process. It has also raised objections to the loss of green cover on the campus.
“This campus has over 100 trees, and some are over 100 years old. We do have some endangered species of trees on the campus. The church will be 150 years old this year. Now, BMRCL plans to temporarily acquire the land and turn the beautiful green cover into a flat land which is of no use as we cannot plant any deep-rooted trees after the construction,” states the petition.
It is said that the BMRCL is permanently acquiring 3,532 sqm of the church land for the project and has identified 4,833 sqm for temporary acquisition. According to a BMRCL official, “The corporation is in talks with the church authorities. We know that the church has the history and we are not acquiring any church, but only the premises on that. Also the initial work has started and we have no idea about the online petition."
After a couple of meetings with Church authorities on the loss of green cover, it is said that after getting necessary clearances, the BMRCL will translocate as many trees as possible.
