Parks in Bengaluru to remain open from 5 am to 10 pm henceforth, says D K Shivakumar
Bengaluru (PTI): Parks in the city would henceforth remain open from 5 am to 10 pm, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also in-charge of Bengaluru Development, said on Tuesday.
He said some people had complained that parks were being closed in the afternoon hours and wanted them to remain open without a break.
"Now it is from 5 am to 10 am and then from 1:30 pm to 8 pm. So we have now decided that all parks in Bengaluru city will be open from 5 am to 10 pm. For the benefit of the citizens, we are extending it," Shivakumar told reporters here.
Referring to concerns over parks being used for "illegal or unwanted" activities, he said cameras have been installed at their entry and exit gates.
Bengaluru has more than 1,200 public parks, probably the highest in the country, officials said, adding that the new timing particularly covers the parks that come under city civic body, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) jurisdiction.
Speaking on the Climate Action and Resilience Plan for Bengaluru (BCAP), Shivakumar said under the flagship `Hasiru Rakshaka' project, sapling plantation programme has been successfully completed across all BBMP zones.
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"Our aim is to raise awareness among school children toward the environment and they responded with great enthusiasm and active participation. Last year, BBMP planted one lakh saplings and distributed 50,000 saplings to the public. 250 schools participated in the programme and their students planted 52,000 saplings," he said.
These schools and students also signed agreements to take care of these trees in the coming years. A website and mobile application have been developed for children to monitor the health of their plants.
"This year, we are increasing our targets and planning to plant two lakh saplings by involving even more schools and children. This year we will have an agreement with 250 schools, targeting about 75,000 students. Rest will be done with police and public. 25000 saplings have already been distributed and 25000 more will be distributed soon," the Minister added.
Further noting that BBMP already invited eight tenders for conducting Tree Census across the city, Shivakumar said the work under the programme is in progress.
"Till now, 94,000 trees have been enumerated. Two wards have been fully completed in Bommanahalli zone -- Vidyapeeta ward with 4600 trees and Katriguppe ward with 4300 trees. The entire exercise is to be completed in this financial year," he added.
Noting that Bengaluru is joining the Cities4Forests platform- A global alliance of more than 95 cities, Shivakumar said the move will facilitate technical support and knowledge sharing with cities across the globe. "With WRI India as a knowledge partner, Bengaluru becomes the 4th city in India to be a C4F member."
To seek help from citizens in addressing water scarcity, he said, the Climate Action Cell is launching a crowd-sourcing activity for mapping of open wells. "Open wells have traditionally been an integral part of Bengaluru's water security.
"Once identified, steps will be taken to rejuvenate open wells through a scientifically developed standard operating protocol. More details will be published soon on the BBMP website," the Minister said.
The main challenge of the Climate Action Cell is to coordinate activities of many departments, Shivakumar said.
He announced the 'Fellows of Climate Action Cell' programme.
"Under this programme, we will recruit youngsters with passion and relevant experience to work on the ground to support implementation of climate actions and support the Cell in project preparation to improve resilience, adaptation and mitigation actions across the city of Bengaluru. Each of these Fellows will be paid a stipend and will work under the supervision of Climate Action Cell. I am encouraging young professionals to use this unique opportunity to work with the Government on the Climate Action Plan," he added.
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Ramdas Athawale backs Fadnavis as Maharashtra CM; says Shinde can shift to Centre
New Delhi, Nov 26: RPI(A) leader Ramdas Athawale, a key BJP ally, on Tuesday called for a quick decision on the next chief minister of Maharashtra and suggested that incumbent Eknath Shinde should shift to the Centre as a Union minister.
Addressing a press conference here, Athawale also backed senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis as the next chief minister of Maharashtra, contending that the saffron party won the maximum number of seats in the 288-member Assembly and should have the right to the top executive post in the state.
He said a peculiar situation has arisen in Maharashtra where BJP leaders want Fadnavis as the chief minister, while Shiv Sena leaders want Shinde to continue in the post, citing the good work he has done over the last two and a half years.
Athawale, the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, said NCP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has declared that he was not in the race for the chief minister.
"We need to resolve this matter, without any further delay. The election results were announced on November 23 and we should have had the oath of the new chief minister on November 26, the Constitution Day," Athawale said.
Backing Fadnavis for the post of chief minister, Athawale said Shinde can become the deputy chief minister or shift to the Centre and join the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Athawale said his RPI(A) has a presence in every part of the state, but unfortunately lost the two seats -- Dharavi and Kalina -- offered to it in the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections.
He demanded that an RPI member be made an MLC and a minister in the state government.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won a landslide victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections winning 235 seats in the 288-member House. The BJP won 132 seats, followed by Shinde-led Shiv Sena (57) and Ajit Pawar-led NCP (41). Smaller parties, who are part of the alliance, won five seats.
