LEARNING FROM CITIES
8
RAISE YOUR VOICE
Protests are good. They show that people are alive and have a voice to express. And a protest for the right to a livable city only makes the city theirs. Hyderabad has seen two such protests in the last one year. The first being the fight to preserve a heritage structure that is over a 100 years old and the more recent one being the fight to save the KBR park - a fight that is still underway.Osmania General Hospital, conceived in the early 1900s, is a palatial structure exemplifying the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture. Today this proud structure, in spite of being functional, shows signs of dilapidation and decline. Seeing this, the government proposed to demolish the structure and construct multi-storied commercial towers in its place. This proposal brought on an uproar by the people of Hyderabad. A flurry of discussions, talks, awareness campaigns and heritage walks focused on the hospital
Girl holds poster for Human Chain around the KBR park to protest against the cutting of trees. Image credit : HydRising
A park protest. Images credit : HydRising
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CITY OBSERVER | June 2016
followed. Activists and conservationists did a detailed survey that showed that the ancient hospital was structurally stable and simply required superficial restoration. But what was really admirable is the involvement of the public. The citizens participated in the campaigns and staged protests which eventually culminated in the proposal being dropped. The second and most recent protest is the fight to save the erstwhile KBR Park. When the authorities decided to chop down 3000 trees to make way for a strategic road development plan (SRDP), the citizens united in outcry. There were human chains formed and musical events planned around the Park to raise awareness. The issue is still under discussion but the citizens are firm in their belief that the green space clearly outweighs the proposal of more roads.
Above, Street play draws in people to raise awareness about the KBR park. Image credit : HydRising