The serpent in Bangalore’s Eden

Professional groups have not lagged behind either. Doctors, chartered accountants, lawyers, teachers, industrialists – the list is endless. Name any profession or group, they’ve probably staged a dharna for the park.

But are these people genuinely interested in saving the park or are they only on the look out for a good photo-op? Do they know the history of this green expanse that they are so interested in preserving, when even the State Horticulture Department officials don’t?

Cubbon Park is actually Chamarajendra Park. It has, however, been popularly named after SirMark Cubbon, who was the chief commissioner of Mysore from 1834 to 1861. Sir Mark, incidentally, had never set his eyes on the park in the first place. He didn’t even build it.

The 1990 State Gazetteer notes that this park — it originally sprawled over 325 acres — was “a creation of the efforts of” Colonel Meade, (Commissioner from 1870 to 1875), “though work on it started in 1864”. Sir Mark Cubbon was, however, the one who started it all. After he took over as chief commissioner, the seat of power shifted from Mysore to Bangalore and he wanted to build an attara kacheri (the present Secretariat), for the government to function. He also wanted an ornamental garden planned alongside.

The park was and is essentially an arboretum — where trees are grown for study and display. The good thing about the park is that its exotic and native species flower at different times of the year so that the park is always ablaze with colour.

There are more than 7,000 trees in the park today with exoticsoutnumbering the natives. Among the former are the australian chestnut tree (Castanospermum australe) and the black bean tree which is a rich source of Castano spermine — a substance considered useful for the treatment of AIDS.

Besides this, there are at least five species of Cassias. Next come the Peltaphorum trees (two species) and the Tabebuias. Then there are the Gulmohars, Plumerias (known as temple trees or pagoda trees), Mahogany trees and Silk Cotton trees. Among the natives are the Lagerstroemia reginae (known as the Pride of India), as well as various fig and sandal trees.

To get back to Sir Mark. He fell ill before work on the park began and he died on his journey back to his native land the Isle of Mann. Today, the public park that has been named after him is not only the worse for the wear and tear of 133 years, it’s much smaller too. Of the 300 acres that exist today, buildings occupy 60 acres and roads have taken up another 80 acres.

In fact, there have been more encroachments into itsopen spaces since it was brought under the “protection” of the Karnataka Parks and Gardens Act of 1975.

What set off the flurry of campaigns to save the park was an innocuous Government Order (GO) dated July 30. That document denotified over 40 acres The notification was supposedly done to enable the construction of an annexe to the Legislators Home situated within the park. At least that was what Horticulture Minister D.T. Jayakumar publicly admitted.

When construction on the annexe began in 1996, it was in violation of the Parks’ Act which specifies that no construction can come up in areas governed by the Act. At that time, a Public Interest Litigation filed by theatre artist and businessman, Bimal Desai, had led the Karnataka HC to stay the construction.

The government got around that hurdle with this year’s GO dated July 30. The park’s boundaries were pushed inwards and the High Court on September 17 allowed the government to continue with work on the annexe. Bimal Desai, meanwhile, filed aSpecial Leave Petition in the Supreme Court on October 26 against the HC’s September 17 order.

Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister M.C. Nanaiah maintains the government has the legal right to denotify “areas which were not originally part of the park”. He says that the areas were included through the GO of 1983 to “enable the Horticulture Department to get more funds” because, at that time, funding was proportionate to the acreage.

The list of projects proposed within the Park area gets longer by the day. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board plans a treatment plant in the area. Lawyers, not satisfied with the High Court annexe (built in 1996 and which is, incidentally, the most recent encroachment) want a centre where, according to Advocates’ Association President K.N. Subba Reddy, “they can relax”. The lawyers also want a road through the park to the eastern boundary of the City Metropolitan Magistrate Courts Complex on Nrupathunga Road. Reddy insists that it will not damage the park’senvironment in any way.

There are also rumours that a prominent City politician is behind a move to set up a community centre within the park. Besides this, there is a temple on Hudson’s Circle, near the park, that is getting bigger and bigger as the days go by.

While the government tries to dismiss the issue as a storm in a teacup, the campaigners stage silent protests and vintage car rallies. But the fact remains that Bangalore’s Cubbon Park has long been an object of neglect. The deputy director of the park, M. Marisiddaiah, has a staff of 20 gardeners, all of whom are middle-aged. For the last 12 years he has recruited no new hand “because a GO forbids it”.

Two years ago, traffic was banned in the park between 5.30 a.m. and 8 a.m., but that rule has been violated with impunity ever since. The policemen posted inside the park seem to spring to attention only when some VIP comes on a visit. Minister D.T. Jayakumar has been talking about banning all traffic in the park for some time now, but nothinghas come of his purported intention.

Today, Cubbon Park, despite its interesting history and enviable location, is being described as a “den of drunkards”, a place where drug traffickers and prostitutes operate from. As if this is not enough, every now and then a murder is committed amidst its sylvan environments.

Truly, like governments, people get the public parks they deserve. The people’s movement to save the park seems to have come too late.