ChaloCubbon: Bengalurueans protest upcoming High Court building in city’s famous Cubbon Park

Walkers and environmentalists came together on Sunday morning in Bengaluru to protest the proposed construction of a 10-storey annexe for the Karnataka High Court in the city's famous Cubbon Park. Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw added her voice to the protest, posting on social media platform X that courts could not rule on environmental issues if they themselves were culprits!.

“High Courts must be future-looking as they will need to transform into online and virtual courts, not buildings that destroy the environment,” she tweeted.

The Bengaluru Residents Welfare Association organised Sunday’s protest with the Cubbon Park Walker’s Association (CPWA) under the hashtag #ChaloCubbon. The associations have invited the public to protest in the park every weekend until the government withdraws the proposed construction.


Netizens are circulating a petition on social media by citizens advocacy initiative Heritage Beku, which got 6,000 signatures within the first 24 hours of launch. Back in 2019 when the annexe was first announced, a change.org petition had garnered 22,000 signatures. The planned addition to the court premises had been kept on hold for five years due to environmentalist protests.

The unpopular decision comes right on the heels of the government agreeing to revoke the traffic ban inside the park, allowing vehicles to drive through on the second and fourth Saturdays (government holidays). Vehicles will be allowed to enter Cubbon Park from the High Court to Siddalingaiah Circle and vice versa on second and fourth Saturdays as a pilot measure for three months, according to the order.