Lalbaghversus Metro, is a modern-day tale. All want development andkeep the heritagepark intact. Wednesday's protest outside Lalbagh West drew in the politicalaspirants along with the common man candidates expressed concern about thedestruction Metro would cause to Lalbagh. With his green manifesto, SantoshMin, Independent candidate from Bangalore South said, "There is need forpublic involvement in such projects."

He was completely against Metro as he feltthat it would not solve any traffic woes in Bangalore South.

However, he said, "The authoritiesshould have a public debate. If they can convince the people that Metro willbenefit them, it should go underground."

VijayKumar, BJP lawmaker from Jayanagar, said he had spoken with the Metro MD. 
"I had suggested that before doing this, they should have discussed withthe local people as well as the resident welfare associations. These are thepeople who would get affected the most."

Although he was all for the Metro, he feltthat it couldn't come at the cost of a "very good park."

He said that the park was an integral partof people's life and that they want that the park is not disturbed.

"I suggested that a change in thealignment of Metro will ensure that no trees are damaged, "It is aquestion of about Rs2,000 crore only."

His party will take it up. "We arepro-environment and pro-Metro, but not at the cost of damaging theenvironment," he said.

Krishna Byre Gowda, Congress candidate, saidthat while he was all for the Metro, "I am not for destroying the culturalor historical heritage like Lalbagh."

He felt that it was time that authoritieslooked at alternatives as there was need to keep moving ahead but not at thecost of the heritage.

Captain GR Gopinath said he wanted theMetro. "In fact it, should have been here 20 years ago," he said.

However,he cited examples of London Hyde Park, where the Metro ran underground, and,closer home, Delhi.He said, "Nehru park and Buddha park were not touched."
While Metro was needed, it was not at the cost of Lalbagh, which he consideredthe city's lung space. Not just that. "Lalbagh is a landscape ofhistorical importance, it has been there from Hyder Ali's time," he said.

"There are some things that are nottouched," he said adding, "Will they destroy Red Fort to bring in theMetro in Delhi orthe Taj Mahal in Agra?"His take was simple: development should be taken in the outer city.

Referringto Londonagain, he said the inner city wasn't touched in the name of development. Hepointed out how the New York Metro built in the 1970s was underground. So wasthe London Metro which was built before World War II.
His concern was taking the Metro on top "would destroy the entirecharacter of the town."

Captain Gopinath confessed that he wasn'taware of the issue until volunteers from Hasiru Usiru informed him, "Weare involved in our own cocoons."

But once he became aware that trees werefelled, he cancelled his political appointment and joined thethe protest,"to show our solidarity."

It isn't trees at Lalbagh alone. CaptainGopinath said he was upset that many old trees were felled for road-wideningall over the city.

  "I'mleft with no choice but hold a poster, and protest against this decision,"as I have been coming to Lalbagh for his morning walks for the last 5 years. Iwas among the many protesters who diligently assembled outside Lalbagh West at 6pm, on Friday. He said thatit was sad that the concerned authorities had rejected the suggestion of Metrore-alignment.

Janhavi and Sreenath, who were standingtogether, said that they felt angry that such mindless construction was allowedin the first place. "We have been coming here since our childhood,"said Sreenath, recollecting how he spent his summer vacations at the park.

Most of them said that if the Metro runningthrough Lalbagh couldn't be avoided, at least it should be sent underground. Sixty-year-oldPrabhakar, said, "They should not construct it here, the better thing wasto take it out, towards Kankapura Road."

His logic was that in case an extension tothe Metro was needed in future they would have no trouble. "Having ithere, they will not only spoil the area, but in future this may not beextended."

Behind the protesters, wooden fences stood,where once the compound wall was.

"Agreed, we are responding late, buthopefully, in future, the authorities will include public debates on issuesthat concern us," said Rajani, a resident of Basvangudi. She was upsetthat the authorities had violated democratic policies by not holding a publicdebate on the issue.She hopes that the administration realises that people willnot keep quiet anymore, "They assume that nobody reacts, so they can dowhat they will," she said.

The presence of the youth was heartening,while some came with friends, others brought along their entire family. ChiragModi who came with his brother and uncle, said, "I don't want the Metro atall." His stand was that the Metro was secondary and that lung space wasmore important: "I want the trees as they provide fresh air."

Among slogan shouts of "Down, downMetro", "Ulasi, ulasi Lalbagh ulasi" (Save, save, save Lalbagh)the protesters distributed pamphlets to passing motorists. Independentcandidate Santosh Min, who is contesting from Bangalore South, was alsopresent.

At dusk, the gathered held a candle lightvigil, hoping that their efforts would save the park from unnecessarydestruction.But this isn't the last show of green solidarity. Not yet.