Fan frenzy at Cubbon Park

Even though 500 riders took over the garden yesterday, the Horticulture Department remains clueless, but say they will take care of the damage

Fan frenzy at Cubbon Park

Even though 500 riders took over the garden yesterday, the Horticulture Department remains clueless, but say they will take care of the damage

Chinnaswamy Stadium wasn't the only place overrun by cricket enthusiasts who lined up to watch the India-Australia's practice match yesterday. Cubbon Park, a critical lung area that is home to over 6,000 different plant species fell victim to parking because of its proximity to the stadium.

What lies beneath: Around 6,000 plant species were damaged because
of parking at Cubbon Park yesterday. Pic/Ramesh HS

Fans, who arrived for the day and night practise session between the two countries, parked their bikes close to one another and in several rows leaving onlookers surprised to find such a large number of vehicles parked in the park grounds.

While stadium officials anticipated the likelihood of over parking, space was allotted at the BRV grounds to accommodate the bikes. But over 500 fans took to parking in the park premises instead, while members of the Horticulture Department remained clueless.

S Ashwath, Joint Director, Horticulture Department (Parks and Gardens), said, "I don't know how that's even possible. All the gates are blocked and a designated parking area is available. There is no space for that many bikes to fit." He added, "We are not aware of it yet, but if there is any damage, we'll take care of it."

MP Ganesh, CEO, Chinnaswamy Stadium, said, "Parking is available at BRV grounds for almost all our gates and we now know that space is still available on the grounds. We thought that it would be enough, but we cannot go and tell the fans not to park at Cubbon Park, because there is some parking space there." They must've gone there thinking parking was not available anywhere else."u00a0

PSI Bhthikoppa, Cubbon Park police station, said, "We were busy with the match. Also, since it is maintained by the horticulture department, only they are authorised to allow parking inside." He added, "Only if there is a civil problem we can interfere."

Did you know?
Cubbon Park was first named Meade's Park after Sir John Meade, the acting Commissioner of Mysore in 1870 and subsequently renamed as Cubbon Park after the longest serving commissioner of the time, Sir Mark Cubbon.

The Origin

Cubbon Park was originally created in 1870, under the supervision of Major General Richard Sankey, who was the then British Chief Engineer of Mysore state. It covered an area of 100 acres and after subsequent expansions; the area reported now is about 300 acres. The park has a rich recorded history of lush plantations teeming abundantly with flora and fauna coupled with numerous impressive and aesthetically located buildings and statues of famous personages, in its precincts.

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels