Many trees axed and roads narrowed in Race Course due to smart city project; government prioritizes development over environment or heritage allege residents and environmentalists
Coimbatore: The Race Course walking area is one of the iconic and most recognisable of Coimbatore’s landmarks. This area now is undergoing a major change due to the implementation of the smart city projects in the area. This has now become an issue among residents and environmentalists.
Several environmentalists in the city have blamed the government and local administration for axing as many 72 trees in Race Course in the name of Smart City project without consulting the residents and stakeholders, to whom the trees have been the haven during their morning activities.
The Racecourse residents association has been continually requesting stakeholder consultation for over a year requesting blueprints and expected models. This until now has not yielded results as authorities have not been keen to discuss and proceed. Many have complained that “the Corporation has almost demolished the look of Thomas Park area and we don’t know what’s coming up in that place either.”
Uprooting many rare species of trees in Race Course, environmentalists quote the residents as saying that they are being cut from breathing fresh air, especially when they go for morning activities.
It is also alleged that road space is reduced resulting in traffic snarls and increase in pollution. Sports facilities are created by encroaching on the roads and without giving adequate consideration for road safety and parking for the public, included in the petition from the residents there.
Mohamed Salim, from Environment Conservation Group, says that the plan for creating such an infrastructure by axing of trees have neither been discussed nor shared with public, even though it is moved upon the direction from Ministry of Housing and Urban development, Government of India.
Race course in Coimbatore has its unique identity of trees since 1900 with clean and green environment which is mostly used by the people of Coimbatore for walks regularly.
The issue has been raised to the officials but there was no expected results. So the residents started a petition on their own to address this issue, Salim told. The residents also say requested the concerned authorities to stop axing of trees and erecting artificial structures.
A resident also said on condition of anonymity that if their requests are not met immediately they will protest against axing of tress next week by wearing uniform colors and by following social distancing norms.