3,559 trees to be cut down in Bengaluru city for road, metro projects
Bengaluru: A staggering 3,559 trees are set to be cut down to facilitate five civil projects in the city. More than 90% of the trees will be felled for road-widening or road-building projects in southern Bengaluru.
An expert committee on Friday began an inspection to examine tree-felling proposals submitted by three different government agencies.
The committee was formed by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) on a high court order.
The proposals include cutting down a whopping 1,822 trees for roadworks between NICE Road and Magadi Road as part of a larger two-laning project taken up by the Karnataka State Highways Improvement Project (KSHIP).
The Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL) has sought the clearing of 1,116 trees for widening roads in Anekal, Yelahanka and KR Puram. Added to this is the request for felling 377 trees for widening a part of National Highway 209.
The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has proposed the cutting down of 115 trees in UM Kaval for building the Anjanapura depot as well as the connecting line and the clearing of 129 trees in the Kadugodi plantation area for building stations for the Whitefield metro line.
Several metro projects are already behind schedule because environmentalists have gone to court, accusing the BMRCL of not following the due procedure before cutting the trees.
Officials said the expert committee, which would submit a report next week, would focus on the ways to mitigate the damage to the environment and the possibility of translocating the trees.
An environmental activist, however, insisted that the committee must first look into the “illegal” destruction of the environment in Bengaluru Rural. “The BBMP has made a tactical move to limit the survey and inspection to Bengaluru Urban. Hundreds of trees have been cut and no compensatory afforestation has been taken up in areas like Sarjapur but they are kept out of the exercise,” he said.
To a question, a forest official agreed that the areas in Bengaluru Rural should also be assessed.
“Those areas are practically part of core Bengaluru. The damage to nature is the same regardless of the division. It’s up to the government to decide on this,” he stated.
Courtesy: www.deccanherald.com
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
