Madhya Pradesh: Bhopal Residents Need Greenery, Open Spaces; Not Skyscrapers, Metro

BHOPAL (Madhya Pradesh): A group of concerned citizens in the city have got together to raise serious questions on the Bhopal Development Plan 2047, the draft of which has been released. Claiming that the plan lacks 'vision', they have propose to come out with a 'Citizen's Vision-Mission 2047' as an answer to the government's plan.

The citizens, who have got together under the banner of Bhopal International Centre, said that city does not need skyscrapers and Metro. It has an oversupply of hospitals and doesn't need more hospitals. It doesn't need more water supply schemes as water from the Upper Lake, Narmada and Kolar is more than enough to meet the needs of the city's projected population till 2047. Instead, it needs more greenery and more open spaces.

Shashidhar Kapoor, the founder of the centre, told media persons on Sunday that they had organised a detailed two-day discussion on Bhopal's development at 'Bhopal International Festival & Colloquium' at Minto Hall in the city on June 22-23, in which experts from different fields had participated. He said that the government's development plan is about spending more and more money and grabbing more and more land.

Vice Chancellor of JLU, P K Biswas said that the rate of growth of Bhopalís population is declining and the city's population is unlikely to exceed 35 lakh even by 2047. 'Bhopal doesn't need to grow vertically, horizontal growth is good enough for us,' he said.

Industrialist Rajendra Kothari said that tall buildings encroach upon two basic rights of the people - the right to sunshine and the right to fresh air. 'A 23-storied building is coming up in Shivaji Nagar. Just imagine the number of people its shadow will deprive of sunlight,' he said. 'We can only raise awareness. It is the people who have to rise and make themselves heard. It is their city, not the government,' filmmaker Preeti Tripathi said.