Police have relaxed curbs on vehicular movement inside the city's Cubbon Park, citing smooth movement of VIPs in Vidhana Soudha's surroundings and increasing vehicular population of Bengaluru.
The notification was issued without consulting the horticulture department, the park's caretaker. Green activists have threatened to launch protests and move court against the notification.
In the notification gazetted on May 25, the city police commissioner's office said that from Friday (June 9), traffic will be allowed through Cubbon Park from all its gates, except on Sundays. It says no vehicle will be allowed into the park from 10 pm to 8 am on all days.
Police commissioner Praveen Sood said he had nothing to with the notification, which overrules all previous orders.
The previous notification issued by the city commissioner two years ago under a state government order sy,had prohibited vehicular movement in Cubbon Park on all days except second Saturdays and all Sundays of a month and three national holidays of a year. This, according to officials in the horticulture department incharge of Cubbon Park, had brought down pollution levels within the park considerably, besides giving visitor easy hassle-free access to the park for fitness activities like walking, jogging and cycling, and also other nature-friendly activities like bird watching.
Additional commissioner of police (traffic) R Hithendra said he was not the person concerned and one should go to the deputy director concerned from the horticulture department for confirmation. Confirming that Cubbon Park traffic police officials had approached them on Wednesday with a copy of the notification, a senior horticulture department official said: "The previous notification was such a nature-friendly approach that we were glad to welcome it and act accordingly. This time, however, we were not even approached once for a discussion before the notification was issued."
The move will undo all gains the park had made over the past two years. "Due to prohibition of vehicle movement within the park for the past two years, the pollution levels due to vehicular emission have gone down to a great extent. There is less dirt and dust and the park is much cleaner and greener. However, with the new notice, the park will again get polluted and dirty," the official said.
The notification was issued without consulting the horticulture department, the park's caretaker. Green activists have threatened to launch protests and move court against the notification.
In the notification gazetted on May 25, the city police commissioner's office said that from Friday (June 9), traffic will be allowed through Cubbon Park from all its gates, except on Sundays. It says no vehicle will be allowed into the park from 10 pm to 8 am on all days.
Police commissioner Praveen Sood said he had nothing to with the notification, which overrules all previous orders.
The previous notification issued by the city commissioner two years ago under a state government order sy,had prohibited vehicular movement in Cubbon Park on all days except second Saturdays and all Sundays of a month and three national holidays of a year. This, according to officials in the horticulture department incharge of Cubbon Park, had brought down pollution levels within the park considerably, besides giving visitor easy hassle-free access to the park for fitness activities like walking, jogging and cycling, and also other nature-friendly activities like bird watching.
Additional commissioner of police (traffic) R Hithendra said he was not the person concerned and one should go to the deputy director concerned from the horticulture department for confirmation. Confirming that Cubbon Park traffic police officials had approached them on Wednesday with a copy of the notification, a senior horticulture department official said: "The previous notification was such a nature-friendly approach that we were glad to welcome it and act accordingly. This time, however, we were not even approached once for a discussion before the notification was issued."
The move will undo all gains the park had made over the past two years. "Due to prohibition of vehicle movement within the park for the past two years, the pollution levels due to vehicular emission have gone down to a great extent. There is less dirt and dust and the park is much cleaner and greener. However, with the new notice, the park will again get polluted and dirty," the official said.