18-06-2025
- Science
- New Indian Express
Greens raise concerns over UVCE's new academic block in bio park
BENGALURU: The biodiversity park at the Jnanabharathi Campus of Bangalore University (BU) is under threat as parts of the park are set to be demolished for building an academic block for University of Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE), the state's first autonomus institute on IIT model.
Now, an online campaign has been launched against construction activity in the area. UVCE is set to claim 52 acres of land which is under BU. 'Acres of land are being given to to multiple institutions and agencies, disrupting the biodiversity park and we have always protested against it and now history is repeating,' said TJ Renuka Prasad, an environmentalist who was part of building the bio park.
Home to a variety of flora and fauna, environmentalists refer to it as the 'lungs' of Bengalureans. 'We have planted around 30 acres with the Western Ghats species. It's a reserve of many sandalwood trees. There are 175 species of birds and demolishing such a space will have a huge impact to the ecology of Bengaluru,' said Prasad.