NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: As the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is all set to start the road widening works at the Sankey Tank Bund in the city, around 40 full-grown trees are on the verge of being axed down to make way for the flyover from T Chowdiah Road to 18th Cross Malleswaram. Bengaluru-based environmentalists and other activists have expressed disappointment at the BBMP's decision.

Earlier too the activists had protested against this plan after which the BBMP had to stop the project. Now the civic agency has revived the plan of widening the 1.1 km road and a 560 meter long flyover after cutting down around 40 trees in the area.

Going ahead with the plan, the BBMP engineers have decided to widen the narrow road from 15 meters to 24 meters. With the current size of the road , barely two cars can pass which leads to more traffic congestion. The residents, activists and environmentalists have opined that the road in question is near a lake and widening it will be dangerous.

"Cutting down trees is not right; the BBMP has to come up with a different plan. Already the city is experiencing environmental pollution with lots of development projects," an activist and a resident of Malleswaram told News Trail.