Flyover to pinch dining, play area of Stella Maris students

Rachana Ramesh | NT

Bengaluru: The proposed Sankey flyover is set to take away a large chunk of land of the Stella Maris School in the vicinity, disrupting its normal functioning and affecting over 2,600 children.

The flyover necessitates acquiring a part of the assembly hall within the school premises. While the BDA owns a small portion of the land that borders the school where the drain pipes are installed underground, the remaining area that will be taken away for the flyover purpose is the school’s property.

“The children carry on their activities from playing to eating in the assembly hall. If we take away this space, they will never be able to come out and will be confined to their classrooms,” a sister from the school told News Trail. Half of a narrow lane connecting the school and the playground is also set to be taken away, restricting free movement of the children.

“Children are also our citizens. We need to take care of them,” she said, adding that they have been fighting the issue since 2010. She highlighted the health consequences that the children will have to bear if the flyover construction begins, from air pollution to noise pollution.

“Already, if the children sit down on the floor of the assembly, their hands get covered in a layer of soot,” she provided an example and urged the government to stop making road infrastructure increasingly attractive as it in turn increases private vehicle ownership. Instead, it must focus its might on making the public transportation system in the city entirely efficient, she said. Markings in red have already been made by the BBMP to showcase the areas that will be acquired.

Along with this, trees that need to be cut down have also been marked. “Plenty of trees are being cut within our premises. While a few have been planted by us, many are old,” she said, explaining that Stella Maris was established in 1957, making the trees at least a few decades old. The trees also form an essential part of the Sankey lake’s ecosystem, with environmental experts warning that the tank bund will weaken if they are axed.

On Saturday, around 2,000 students from neighbourhoods surrounding Malleswaram, Vyalikaval and Sadashivanagar have sent handwritten postcards to the Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai requesting him to put a stop to the proposed widening and flyover. Addressing him as ‘Bommai uncle’ in their letters, the students have urged him to protect their schools.

Most of the postcards written in Kannada and English read: “Dear Bommai Uncle, please save our environment. We want to learn in a healthy and safe atmosphere. We do not want the Sankey Flyover.” Each of them also had a signature of the student to ensure they are authentic.