Activists protest proposed Karnataka HC annex in Cubbon Park

Environmentalists and Cubbon Park Walkers Association (CPWA) staged a protest on Monday, opposing the proposed 10-storey annex building for the Karnataka high court within the Cubbon Park.

CPWA president S Umesh said government approval has been given to the construction despite a prior division bench rejecting it in 2019. “This move is completely against the environmental safety of Cubbon Park. We had fought five years ago to stop the proposal. If they construct a 10-storey building, later they will ask for parking space inside the park. In the future, Vidhan Soudha and other government offices will ask for the same. This will go on and Cubbon Park will no longer be a pleasant destination,” he added.

Simultaneously, Heritage Beku, a conservation group initiated an online petition to halt the project’s progression.

The dispute traces back to 2019 when the high court registrar sought permission for an administrative block near the court, drawing opposition from environmentalists and CPWA.

Meanwhile, the government has decided to lift the ban on vehicles on second and fourth Saturdays of every month inside Cubbon Park in Bengaluru.

Chief secretary Rajneesh Goel recently approved the proposal of the Bengaluru traffic police to permit vehicles on an experimental basis for three months.