Cubbon park authorities have now included skating in their capricious list of restrictions imposed on visitors coming to the park. Cubbon Park authorities have been on a zealous drive over the last couple of months, preventing visitors from doing anything except, perhaps, breathing. In the last two months, people have been prevented from eating, playing ball games and taking cameras inside the park. Predictably, the whole exercise also involved a generous dose of moral policing where guards yell over megaphones to couples about not going anywhere in the park, away from prying eyes.
For every one of these restrictions, Cubbon Park authorities say they have received complaints from senior citizens, who one would think looking at the nature of complaints, have nothing better to do than systematically squeeze the joy out of the life of everyone under 60 years of age.
On the morning of April 30, some skaters – using roller skates and skateboards – were asked to move out of the park after some walkers complained about the noise. The skaters were not allowed to resume their usual weekend activity for the second consecutive Sunday while cycling was permitted.
An association called the Bengaluru Skaters teach people of all ages skating/skateboarding for free every Sunday. "The security guards in the park have been threatening us for the last year about skating here. They said they received orders from above. This Sunday, we weren’t allowed to skate either." Last Sunday, when they were asked to leave, the skaters reached out to Deputy Director Balakrishna HT, who stopped the guards from throwing the skaters out. This Sunday, the skaters were unable to reach the Deputy Director and the guards made perfect use of the opportunity to make them leave the park. “Cubbon Park is the only place where skaters can safely practice recreational or fitness skating and learn urban skating as a new mode of transport. Once we lose the space, we are practically dysfunctional,” Divye Karde, founder of Bengaluru Skaters said.
On April 13, news broke out that visitors of Cubbon Park were no longer allowed to climb trees, sit close to their partners, have lunch on the premises, or play on the lawn. Guards were found with megaphones announcing rules and carrying lathis, chasing away visitors with baskets of food. The latter were asked to eat in their cars instead. Some residents were warned from playing football on the lawn. Bengaluru residents expressed their displeasure with these bizarre rules across social media.
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#CubbonPark #Bengaluru #KarnatakaElection2023 pic.twitter.com/BlYlIwJfnw
— Sanitary Panels (@sanitarypanels) April 14, 2023
Respecting the new rules, maintaining ‘one arm distance’ at Cubbon Park. pic.twitter.com/6TwB8HMQHD
— Anubha (@artbyahbuna) April 16, 2023