Shivakumar opens up Bengaluru parks throughout the day amidst civic body polls anticipation

Bengaluru city's parks would now be open to the public from 5.00 am to 10.00 pm, deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar said on Tuesday. The decision, along with several other climate initiatives announcements, comes at a time when the city’s long overdue civic body polls have been expected to be declared.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Pallike’s (BBMP) elected Council's term had expired in September 2020. Ward delimitation exercises and reservation disputes have pushed the polls forward. In January this year, Shivakumar, who holds the Bengaluru development portfolio, had said that the civic body’s polls would be conducted soon after the Lok Sabha elections. With the general elections completed on June 4, parties have set their sights on the civic body.

The extended timings of around 1200 parks in the city could help people relax, socialise, and even find shelter during adverse weather conditions, Shivakumar said. “There has been a lot of demand to keep the parks open all day, as they are the most valuable and needed green spaces in our city. We are a government that listens to the public voice and we are making a decision to keep the people happy,” he added.


However, two of the city's most iconic parks, Cubbon Park and Lalbagh, fall under the state horticulture department and have their own separate timings.

Additionally, he said, the government has also established a Climate Action Cell to oversee the implementation of the Bengaluru Climate Action and Resilience Plan (BCAP) that was launched in November 2023. “Bengaluru is blessed with hundreds of nonprofits, NGOs, RWAs [Resident Welfare Associations], civil society organisations working selflessly for the betterment of our city…We are committed to citizen participation in governance and taking everyone's inputs and making them part of the solution. We need your knowledge, your passion and your efforts,” he added.