Trees vs traffic. What will win at Sankey Tank?

BANGALORE: In a turn of events, Sankey Road widening gains support as residents of Sadashivanagar gathered at Bhashyam Circle to demand the road to be widened to ease the flow of traffic. A different group of residents submitted a letter to the mayor and deputy mayor asking for the road widening work to be carried out in the stretch between Bhashyam Circle and Ayyappa Temple.On Sunday afternoon, residents of Sadashivanagar and members from other resident welfare organisations gathered at Bhashyam Circle holding placards and chanting slogans demanding Sankey Road to be widened to ease the flow of traffic on the road. They conducted a signature campaign to garner more support for the road widening.As a counter to the protests about the road widening, these residents claimed that they are the ‘real’ residents who are affected by the congested roads in the area. They also brought out a pamphlet on Integrated Traffic Management around Sankey Tank explaining the need to widen the road. They explained that the stretch between Bhashyam Circle and Ayyappa temple is about 11 metres wide which acts as a bottleneck because the adjoining roads are 27 metres wide.Mayor Sharadamma and deputy mayor S Harish met the residents and said that the decision to widen the road depends on the court order on Monday.Mayor Sharadamma said that road widening work can be carried out only if the trees are cut. She also said that the corporation has made alternate plans to plant more trees in the area. Deputy mayor, S Harish, said that only 19 trees will be cut in the first phase of road widening. “The entire stretch will involve the falling of 63 trees but the first phase will involve the cutting of 19 trees only,” he said. He added that all work has stopped following the court order.If the court permits the corporation to widen the road, the stretch between Bhashyam Circle and Ayyappa Temple will be widened up to 27 metres. The deputy mayor also said that no residential property will be affected by the road widening including Stella Maris School.