Citizens walk in solidarity to save Sankey Tank in Bengaluru

Residents show of support to Save Sankey. (Supplied)

If you were anywhere near Sankey Tank in Bengaluru on Sunday, 19 February, you would have likely noticed nearly 200 citizens all dressed in black walking together.

Many citizens group including residents from ages 2 to 90 participated in a peaceful march to showcase their support to Save Sankey from the Sankey Flyover and Road Widening project.

Citizens from all over #Bengaluru responded to a call for solidarity by showing up at 8:00 AM on a Sunday and walked together to #SaveSankey. When will @CMofKarnataka @BSBommai @drashwathcn and @BBMPCOMM listen to citizens? pic.twitter.com/TgGZCcyHXl

— Citizens For Sankey (@Citizens4Sankey) February 19, 2023

Why residents oppose it

The road widening issue has been a bone of contention for over a decade, but the Sankey flyover project was not a part of the earlier project and is a new proposal.

Citizens groups and residents have time and time opposed the proposal.

The project would lead to the cutting down of all the trees around the lake bund and drastically affecting the lake ecology, argue citizen groups and urban planners.

HUNDREDS of citizens gather at #SankeyTank – children too – worried abt their future if poorly planned traffic solutions and rampant tree cutting and endangering of lake bunds continue #citizenvoicesmatter @BSBommai #SaveSankey #flyoveryaake #savegardencity pic.twitter.com/pRwzaaR2kL

— Suki Iyer (@sukiyer18) February 19, 2023

Petitions filed against Bengaluru Sankey flyover

In the past few months, the Sankey Flyover project has received stiff opposition from residents of Malleshwaram, Vyalikaval and Sadashivnagar.

Around 4,000 students in the area have written postcards to Karnataka Chief Minister Basvaraj Bommai requesting him to stop this project.

Many citizens have written in objections to the Forest Department to object against the feeling of the trees. 27,000 people have signed a petition against this project.

Peaceful protest on Sankey Road. We want our trees and our lake. We don’t need no flyover. #flyoveryaake pic.twitter.com/Ik8J0EGz8E

— Mihir Mahajan (@mihirmahajan) February 19, 2023

Uncertainty ahead 

The citizens’ walk. (Supplied)

South First recently reported that the continuous campaign by the citizen group put the Karnataka government under tremendous pressure during election time, and it is now reconsidering the Sankey flyover project and was likely to drop it.

Preeti Sunderajan, a Malleswaram resident who was present at the march, told South First, “At the moment, the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA) has shelved the project, but there is no clarity or statement on complete closure of the project. It could reopen post elections. We want either the MLA or the chief minister to close the project”.

Sunderajan further stated that the groups have plans to conduct more such walks to showcase solidarity and support against the project.

#savesankey we want the decision makers to implement alt solutions like traffic signal optimization. & stop this poorly planned flyover & rd widening project which will only worsen traffic in this area and result in 6 bottlenecks in a 1500 meter stretch. Citizens deserve better. pic.twitter.com/l12i60cTJN

— Citizens For Sankey (@Citizens4Sankey) February 19, 2023