Bengaluru: Postcard campaign opposes Lalbagh use for tunnel road

Bengaluru residents have begun sending postcards to Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, asking the government not to use Lalbagh land for the proposed Hebbal–Silk Board tunnel road.

Environmentalist and retired IFS officer A.N. Yellappa Reddy launched the campaign, asking school and college students, children, senior citizens and other residents to send individual letters seeking withdrawal of the project. Campaigners say the proposed route could pass beneath Lalbagh and require more than five acres of the garden’s land.

The postcards ask the government not to use any part of Lalbagh for tunnel shafts, a multilevel parking facility or other project structures. They also seek withdrawal of a recent amendment to the Karnataka Parks (Preservation) Act that permits diversion of up to 5% of park land for infrastructure projects.

B.V. Sridhar Rao, who has walked at Lalbagh for three decades, appealed for wider participation. “People across age groups must come together to save Bengaluru’s heritage and environment,” he said.

B-Smile technical director B.S. Prahallad said the agency was not considering a route diversion that excludes Lalbagh for now, and that a decision would have to come from higher authorities. The government estimated the 17km project at Rs 17,698 crore, while Adani Group submitted the lowest bid of Rs 22,267 crore in December 2025. The proposal is awaiting approval.