On June 5th, students from All India Students Association (AISA) held a flash demonstration at Lal Bagh on the occasion of World Environment Day. They highlighted key environmental issues in Karnataka, as well as India, such as the corporate loot of natural resources, rapid unplanned urbanization, climate change, water scarcity, and the tunnel road project which is set to destroy much of the ecosystem in the city of Bengaluru. There has been an increase in the acquisition of fertile lands in and around Bengaluru for real estate and industrial purposes. Recently, CM DK Shivakumar has also opened up wildlife safaris in Bandipur and Nagarhole despite the Adivasis fighting against eviction in these areas. The impact of these policies on the environment was also spoken about by the students.
The police arrived shortly after it started, threatening to detain or arrest the students if they did not disperse and delete all the media right away. They termed this protest ‘illegal’ due to the unconstitutional and undemocratic protest ban in Bengaluru that hides all protests from public vicinity. The fact that students who tried to raise awareness about environmental issues got threatened with FIRs shows the poor state of affairs in the Congress-ruled state of Karnataka. While the RSS is given a free pass to hold rallies in the city, students and activists who speak about environmental and other issues concerning the broad masses, get slapped with FIRs and arrests.
