COIMBATORE: Acting against the Smart City project that was taken up by the Coimbatore Corporation, a group of residents and environmentalists started an e-petition on change.org website to “save race course”. The petition has received 2,400 signatures in 24 hours.
The residents urged Coimbatore Corporation to immediately stop the Smart City project being taken up in the area.
They first wanted the civic body to share the project’s plan with the public and get a consensus before going ahead.
The petition was filed after residents complained that around 70 trees were cut and uprooted for the project and Thomas Park which housed a few rare shrubs was also razed.
The petition was launched by Environment Conservation Group president R Mohammed Saleem.
“Besides the 70 trees that have been cut, they have removed three traffic islands—opposite KG Hospital, Thomas Park and one diagonally opposite to KG Theatre. They have also removed the children’s playground and park at the entrance of West Club Road,” he said.
During the pandemic, these outdoor green spaces were the only respite from stress. It is sad to see that such valuable green spaces in Race Course is lost, Saleem added.
He mentioned that the suggested open area for a person is 10 to 12 sqm, but in Coimbatore there is only 2 sqm per person.
"Destroying the children’s play areas and traffic islands are blatant violations of environmental norms and have made the area accident prone. While more than 70 trees have been cut, the roots of some of the remaining trees have been exposed risking their survival. It negatively impacts the local flora and fauna,” he said.
The residents of Race Course were against the smart city project and renovation of Race Course since the work began a year ago.
"Our parks keep disappearing and concrete structures continue to rise," said a resident and daily walker Susheela Rao. "
"All residents of my apartment building have signed the petition," she added.