Suburban rail project: HC halts axing of 368 trees at Bengaluru Cantonment
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has ordered that no trees should be cut or damaged on over eight acres of land near Cantonment Railway Station, where a suburban rail project has been proposed, The New Indian Express reported on Thursday.
The order was reportedly issued by a division bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice CM Poonacha after hearing a PIL filed by former MLA AT Ramaswamy and three others. Notices were issued to the state government, central government, Karnataka Biodiversity Board and the tree officer.
Countering the apprehension expressed by the counsel for petitioners over the move to axe trees, the Additional Solicitor General of India (on behalf of the Centre), submitted that the state has rightly withdrawn the notification as it was issued without consulting the Centre.
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Also, the petition is premature as the application has been made to the tree officer seeking permission to cut trees for the suburban rail project on the land in question, he said.
The petitioners reportedly said the land is an old green space with 371 large trees and forms part of the Cantonment Railway Station area. They argued that a public notice was issued in April inviting objections to the plan to remove 368 trees for the suburban rail project.
The notice stated that the commercial development project will come up on the land measuring 34,856 sq mts, which has been leased to a private company.
They also pointed out that the state government had earlier decided to declare the area a biodiversity heritage site, but the notification was withdrawn in December without explanation.
They termed the decision atrocious and the reasons given absurd. The petitioners alleged that, “It is very clear that all is not well with the state, which has taken a retrograde decision, though it is a matter of grave concern, which will have an adverse impact on Bengaluru’s environment.”
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Bengaluru: Woman techie dies by suicide after son drowns
Bengaluru (PTI): A 29-year-old tech professional has allegedly died by suicide after her 11-month-old son was suspected to have accidentally drowned in a bucket of water at their residence here, police said on Thursday.
The incident occurred on April 1 within the limits of the Chandra layout Police Station, they said.
Police said a letter written in English by the woman was found near the bed, in which she stated that their son had fallen into water and died and that she could not save him, and sought forgiveness.
The matter came to light after the woman's husband, Mahantesh Wali, an engineer, filed a complaint with the police, officials said.
The couple had been living in a rented house for the past four years, and they had a 11-month-old son, Agasthya, they added.
According to the complaint, Pratibha Wali was employed at a tech company near Silk Board and had been working from home.
On April 1, at around 9 am, Mahantesh left for work while his wife and child remained at home. At around 6.30 pm, when he returned and knocked on the door, there was no response. He tried calling his wife on her mobile phone, but she did not answer.
He then retrieved a spare key kept near a window, opened the door and entered the house. On checking the room, he found his wife had allegedly hanged herself by tying a saree to a cradle hook. He also noticed a cut on her left wrist and blood stains, a senior police officer said.
Their son Agasthya was found lying on the bed, and when he checked, the child was also dead, the officer said.
An empty strip of 15 tablets was also recovered from the spot, and it is suspected that the woman may have consumed the tablets, police said.
Prima facie, it appears that the infant strayed into the bathroom and fell into a bucket filled with water while the woman was away, seemingly gone to the terrace to dry the clothes. It appears that the woman, distressed over the death of her son, died by suicide, police said.
However, the husband has expressed suspicion regarding the deaths and sought legal action. Further investigation is underway, police added.
