Society
Under Lalbagh: How a Botanical Garden Forced Bengaluru to Rethink Its Tunnel Road
The Lalbagh tunnel road project has forced Bengaluru to rethink plans for a proposed tunnel through one of the city’s oldest and most important green spaces. EdPublica visits Lalbagh Botanical Garden and speaks to the people who walk through it every day. The Lalbagh tunnel road has become the clearest test yet of how far public pressure can move a government once a decision looks final.
A Rs 17,000-crore-plus tunnel road was meant to cut Bengaluru’s commute times. Instead, it ran into a three-billion-year-old rock — and a government now scrambling to find another way through. EdPublica visits Lalbagh Botanical Garden and speaks to the people who walk through it every day.The Lalbagh tunnel road has become the clearest test yet of how far public pressure can move a government once a decision looks final.
It is early morning at Lalbagh’s West Gate, and walkers are already streaming in — no ticket needed at this hour, the entry stays free until nine. Somewhere past the bougainvillea, the Rose Garden is waking up in the mist, and a flock of parakeets is making its usual racket around the glasshouse. For most of the people filing in, this is simply the start of another day — a walk, a stretch, a bit of quiet before Bengaluru’s traffic takes over. Few of them are thinking about what lies beneath their feet: a proposed ten-lane road tunnel that, on paper, was meant to run straight through this ground.
The autorickshaw driver who dropped this reporter near the gate had his own way of putting it. He’d seen the protest that filled the park on a Sunday morning not long ago — thousands of people, banners, a human chain stretching around the old rock. He didn’t have strong views either way about tunnels and traffic, he said, but he’d noticed something: when the government backed down on the law that triggered it all, and signalled it might route the project around the garden instead of under it, people he spoke to seemed relieved. Since then, he said, he’d been getting more fares to Lalbagh than usual — visitors curious, it seemed, about the garden that had been all over the news.
Rajendar, who lives in Jigani on the city’s southern edge and drives roughly ninety minutes to visit, put it more simply. He comes for the green, he said — for a couple of hours where the air feels different, away from the concrete and the horns. A garden like this, he felt, was not something the city had many more of to spare.
Credit: Dipin Damodharan/EdPublica
Not everyone was willing to be named. A corporate employee, mid-morning break, walking briskly along the lake path, agreed to talk only on condition of anonymity. His view was blunt: whatever the traffic problem is, running infrastructure like this under a garden like Lalbagh is not the way to solve it. The government, he said, needs to reconsider — and find a fix that doesn’t ask a 240-acre lung space to absorb the cost.
A garden older than the city’s traffic problem
Lalbagh’s story predates the automobile by more than a century. Hyder Ali, the ruler of Mysore, laid it out in 1760 as a private garden modelled partly on Mughal design; his son Tipu Sultan expanded it with plants brought back from campaigns and trading contacts across the region. British superintendents took over after, adding the glasshouse in 1890 — built, like much of the era’s civic architecture, in conscious echo of London’s Crystal Palace — and the garden has hosted its twin flower shows around Republic Day and Independence Day ever since.
Today it holds more than 1,850 plant species across 240 acres, including a roughly 250-year-old silk cotton tree said to date to Tipu Sultan’s time, and the Lalbagh Rock — a granite-gneiss outcrop now estimated by geologists to be about three billion years old, among the oldest exposed rock formations anywhere on the peninsula. A watchtower built during the reign of Kempegowda II sits on it. Campaigners have been pushing to have the rock considered for UNESCO recognition, in the same conversation as sites like Hampi.
That rock, and the ground around it, is precisely what the tunnel road project has to pass through.
Lalbagh’s fight is, in that sense, a small and very local chapter of a much bigger story. UN-Habitat’s World Cities Report 2024 found that the average share of green space in cities worldwide fell from 19.5 per cent in 1990 to just 13.9 per cent by 2020 — and the decline has been sharper still in this part of the world, with East and Southeast Asia’s urban green cover dropping from 32.5 per cent to 18.6 per cent over the same period. Every city loses its green space to something that looks, at the time, like a reasonable trade-off — a road, a housing block, a transit line. Bengaluru’s version of that trade-off currently runs 50 to 100 feet under a botanical garden.
What the Lalbagh Tunnel Road Project actually proposes
The Bengaluru Tunnel Road — sometimes called the Twin Tunnel Road — is planned to run 16.5 to 16.75 kilometres between Hebbal in the north and Central Silk Board in the south, largely beneath the Outer Ring Road corridor. Its cost has been quoted at different points as roughly INR 17,000 crore, INR17,698 crore and, more recently, INR 22,267 crore, after Adani Group entities were reported to have won the contract. As originally designed, the alignment required roughly six acres of Lalbagh land — most of it temporary, during construction — for two entry and exit ramps and a ventilation shaft, with one ramp passing within a few hundred metres of Lalbagh Lake and another running close to the rock formation itself, at depths of 50 to 100 feet.
What the reports found
Three separate technical reports have shaped the debate, and none of them offer the government much comfort.
A Geotechnical Interpretative Report prepared for the city’s civic body by Rodic Consultants, dated September 2024, flagged the Lalbagh stretch as a “bedrock transition zone” and noted a geological lineament — a fault-like feature — crossing the proposed alignment near the lake, along with risks of groundwater seepage and seasonal water-table shifts.
A Geological Survey of India expert committee went further. Its report, submitted to the government in April 2026, warned that tunnelling and blasting near the rock could widen existing cracks, destabilise parts of the formation, and disturb groundwater flows into Lalbagh Lake — and separately flagged risk to the historic Kempegowda watchtower. GSI also noted civil-society efforts to have the rock nominated as a UNESCO site.
A third, independent study — by the Sustainable Transportation Lab at the Indian Institute of Science, led by Professor Ashish Verma — questioned the project’s basic logic rather than its geology. Modelling suggested the tunnel would carry only around 1,200 passengers per hour per direction, against roughly 69,000 for a nine-coach metro line built at comparable cost; in a high-toll scenario, the study projected the tunnel’s volume-to-capacity ratio could fall as low as 0.1 — a road built for far more traffic than would likely use it. The same analysis suggested the project could, in some scenarios, add to the city’s overall emissions rather than cut them, by drawing commuters away from mass transit and towards private cars.
The law that lit the fuse
If one thing turned this from a planning dispute into a street movement, it was a single piece of legislation.
The Karnataka Government Parks (Preservation) (Amendment) Bill, 2026, amends a 1975 law that has, until now, given government parks and gardens fairly strong statutory protection. The amendment inserts a new provision allowing the state to “alienate” — that is, sell, lease, gift, exchange, mortgage or otherwise transfer — up to 5 per cent of the total area of any government park or garden in Karnataka, for specified public infrastructure and utility projects. Applied to a 240-acre site like Lalbagh, that threshold works out to roughly 12 acres, twice what the tunnel’s original design was reported to need.
The government’s case is that the change is generic policy, not a Lalbagh-specific fix: Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has said it is meant to enable ordinary public works, such as road-widening, without the cost and delay of separately acquiring private land, and that the provision does not open parkland to private developers — land can only be leased, transferred or exchanged to government departments, statutory authorities and local bodies. Critics were not persuaded. The Bill was cleared by the Cabinet and passed by both Houses of the legislature on 24 August 2026 amid opposition protests inside the Assembly and, its critics say, with little substantive debate — timing that, coming as the tunnel’s alignment through Lalbagh was already under challenge in court, read to many as a legislative route around the garden’s protections rather than a coincidence.
How the fight unfolded
The reaction outside the legislature was faster than the government seemed to expect. Within three days of the Bill’s passage, more than 200 citizens, resident groups and environmental organisations gathered at Lalbagh on 27 August to form a human chain around the ancient rock, demanding the amendment be withdrawn. That Sunday, 30 August, the numbers swelled into the thousands for a march titled “Walk in Lalbagh, Walk for Lalbagh” — residents, walkers’ associations, cycling groups and pro-Kannada organisations alongside Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje and other BJP lawmakers, plus veteran environmentalist A.N. Yellappa Reddy. Marchers sat and lay across the Peninsular Gneiss rock itself and raised slogans in Kannada and English with a common refrain: not one inch of Lalbagh.
The mobilisation built on opposition that had already been running for months through the courts — public-interest litigation in the Karnataka High Court led in part by theatre personality Prakash Belawadi and civic figures including Adikesavalu Ravindra and N.S. Mukunda, and an earlier, smaller human chain in early August aimed specifically at protecting the geological monument from the tunnel.
Facing that pressure, and with BJP leaders petitioning the Governor to withhold assent to the Bill, the state Cabinet withdrew it within days, on 3 September 2026. Shivakumar said the legislation would be reintroduced later, after wider public consultation — it has not been dropped for good. A week after that, on 9 September, he went a step further and said he had asked Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda to study alternatives to using Lalbagh land for the tunnel. That is an instruction to examine options, not a decision to reroute — no revised alignment has been published, and the original six-acre land requirement, the detailed project report and the tender awarded to Adani entities all remain officially in force.
Several petitioners have said they intend to keep challenging the project on transport and procedural grounds regardless of what happens to the amendment or the alignment. Their case — over the withheld 2025 expert report, the missing environmental impact assessment and questions about statutory transport-authority approvals — is due back before the Karnataka High Court in December.
Why the green matters, in numbers
- 240 acres — Lalbagh’s total area, one of the two largest green lungs in central Bengaluru alongside Cubbon Park.
- 1,850+ plant species recorded in the garden, built up over roughly 265 years by Mysore rulers, British superintendents and the state horticulture department.
- ~3 billion years — estimated age of the Lalbagh Rock, a Peninsular Gneiss formation and protected National Geological Monument.
- 16.5–16.75 km — length of the proposed tunnel road corridor between Hebbal and Silk Board.
- ~6 acres — Lalbagh land originally required for the tunnel’s ramps and ventilation shaft.
- 1,200 vs 69,000 — projected passengers-per-hour-per-direction for the tunnel versus a comparably priced metro line, per the IISc study.
- INR 1,000 crore/km — estimated tunnel construction cost, against roughly ₹500 crore/km for metro and INR 110 crore/km for suburban rail, by the same analysis.
A retreat, not a resolution
For now, the garden itself shows no sign of the fight above and around it. The lake is calm, the rock still draws its usual scatter of visitors reading the noticeboard about its age, and the morning walkers keep coming. What has shifted is something real but narrower than it looks: a government caught off guard by how fast a legislative manoeuvre turned into a mass protest, and forced into a public climbdown within ten days of passing a law.
That is not the same as Lalbagh being safe. The amendment is shelved, not repealed, and Shivakumar has said it will return after “consultation.” The instruction to study a route around the garden is exactly that — a study, with no published alternative and no change yet to the project’s land requirement, tender or contractor. The Geological Survey of India’s warnings about the rock, the watchtower and the groundwater, submitted in April and made public only in September, have not been formally answered. And the oldest thread of opposition — the court case over how the project was tendered and cleared in the first place — continues in December, indifferent to whichever way the alignment eventually bends.
So the honest answer, for Rajendar driving in from Jigani, or for the corporate employee unwilling to give his name, is not that they won. It is that a fight most people assumed was already lost turned out not to be — and that the next few months, in a courtroom and in a minister’s office rather than at a human chain, will decide whether that counts for anything.
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Climate
Climate Disasters Disrupted Schooling for 171 Million Students in 2025, UNICEF Finds
Climate disasters disrupted schooling for 171 million students worldwide in 2025, highlighting the urgent need for climate-resilient schools and education systems.
Climate-related disasters disrupted schooling for at least 171 million students worldwide in 2025, affecting one in every 10 school-age children, according to a new UNICEF report that warns of growing threats to learning, educational equality and future economic prospects.
The report, Learning Interrupted: Global Snapshot of Climate-Related School Disruptions in 2025, released on September 10, analysed data from 106 countries and territories. It found that storms, floods, heatwaves, droughts and wildfires caused school closures, shortened teaching hours, reduced attendance and shifts to remote learning.
The findings underline how climate change is emerging as a threat to educational continuity, particularly in countries where schools lack the infrastructure and resources to withstand extreme weather.
Storms and floods interrupt learning
Storms were the leading cause of climate-related school disruptions in 2025, affecting 109 million students globally. Floods affected at least 70 million, while heatwaves disrupted schooling for approximately 50 million children. These figures overlap and should not be added together as separate groups.
In Pakistan, severe monsoon flooding in August delayed the return to school for more than 28 million students. In Egypt, a powerful Khamsin wind-and-dust storm prompted a nationwide suspension of classes for one day, affecting more than 28 million students.
The problem extends beyond individual disasters. Forty countries experienced multiple rounds of climate-related school disruptions during 2025, exposing students to repeated interruptions throughout the academic year.
Floods can damage classrooms, sanitation facilities and learning materials, while extreme heat can make classrooms unsafe and undermine students’ ability to concentrate. Even after schools reopen, damaged infrastructure, disrupted transport and household financial pressures can prevent children from returning to regular attendance.
A growing threat to educational equality
Three-quarters of the students affected in 2025 lived in low- and lower-middle-income countries, where education systems often have fewer resources to prepare for disasters and restore teaching afterwards, UNICEF found.
The World Bank’s 2024 report, Choosing Our Future: Education for Climate Action, offers further evidence of the long-term challenge. It estimated that 400 million students globally experienced school closures due to extreme weather between 2022 and 2024. In affected schools in low-income countries, students lost approximately 45 instructional days between January 2022 and June 2024, compared with around six days in high-income countries.
These interruptions can compound existing educational disadvantages. Students from wealthier households may have access to private tutoring, digital devices and alternative learning arrangements. Children from poorer households may lack internet connectivity, electricity or suitable spaces to study during closures.
South Asia’s exposure highlights the challenge
UNICEF’s previous assessment, covering 2024, recorded at least 242 million students experiencing climate-related school disruptions across 85 countries and territories. South Asia was the most affected region, with 128 million students impacted. Heatwaves affected an estimated 171 million students worldwide that year.
India was among the countries affected by heat-related educational disruptions. In April 2024, extreme heat contributed to school interruptions across Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, the Philippines and Thailand, affecting at least 118 million children collectively. The figure represents the five-country group, not India alone.
The 2024 and 2025 totals should not be interpreted as a direct year-on-year decline. The reports covered different sets of countries and climate events, and the number of recorded disruptions depends on the incidents identified in each assessment.
Climate-resilient schools become a priority
UNICEF estimates that disruptions experienced in 2025 could cost affected students at least US$200 billion in lifetime earnings through lost learning and widening educational inequalities. This is a projection of potential future losses, rather than income already lost.
The World Bank has argued that relatively modest investments can help schools adapt. Its 2024 analysis estimated that a one-time investment of US$18.51 per child could help mitigate learning losses through measures such as improving classroom temperatures, strengthening school infrastructure and training teachers.
Aerial view showing significant flood damage in a residential neighborhood with inundated streets and homes.Image credit:Pexels
UNICEF is calling for climate resilience to be incorporated into education planning, alongside investment in stronger school buildings, emergency preparedness and systems that allow teaching to continue during disasters.
As extreme weather increasingly interrupts academic calendars, education systems must prepare not only to enrol children but also to protect their ability to learn. Climate-resilient infrastructure, early-warning systems and plans for educational continuity will be essential to ensuring that disasters do not deepen existing inequalities in access to education.
Society
Global Job Market Faces a Growing Inclusion Gap as AI and Digitalisation Reshape Work
Global employment faces a growing inclusion gap as AI and digitalisation reshape the labour market. UN and ILO reports highlight persistent informal employment, youth exclusion and unequal access to the skills needed for emerging jobs.
The global economy is undergoing a profound employment transition, driven by artificial intelligence (AI), digitalisation, demographic changes and the shift towards greener industries. Yet, while these forces are expected to create new career opportunities, access to employment and the benefits of technological progress remain deeply unequal, according to the United Nations’ World Social Report 2026.
Released on October 15, the report, published by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), warns that billions of people remain excluded from the jobs, skills, infrastructure and social protections required to participate in economic transformation. Its findings highlight a central challenge for policymakers: creating employment opportunities is not enough unless people can access them and secure decent working conditions.
The scale of the problem is evident in the report’s latest figures. In 2025, 58 per cent of workers worldwide were informally employed, while 27 per cent of young women aged 15–24 were neither employed nor participating in education or training. An estimated 2.2 billion people also lacked internet access, limiting their ability to benefit from digital services, online learning and emerging employment opportunities.
More Jobs, but Unequal Opportunities
The challenge extends beyond unemployment to the quality and security of work. The International Labour Organization’s Employment and Social Trends 2026 report estimated that global unemployment would remain at 4.9 per cent in 2026, equivalent to approximately 186 million people. However, nearly 300 million workers continued to live in extreme working poverty, surviving on less than US$3 a day. The report also projected that 2.1 billion workers would be in informal employment in 2026, often without adequate social protection or employment security.
Young people face particular difficulties entering the labour market. According to the ILO, youth unemployment reached 12.4 per cent in 2025, while approximately 260 million young people were not in employment, education or training. For many, the transition from education to work remains uncertain, particularly where economies fail to generate enough productive jobs.
These challenges coincide with substantial changes in the kinds of jobs employers expect to need. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025, based on projections from more than 1,000 employers, estimates that technological, economic, demographic and green-transition trends could create 170 million jobs globally by 2030 while displacing 92 million. This would produce a net gain of 78 million jobs. However, the report warns that the transition will require extensive workforce adaptation. Nearly 40 per cent of workers’ existing skills are expected to change by 2030, and 63 per cent of surveyed employers identified skills gaps as a major barrier to business transformation.
The projections suggest that the central employment challenge is not simply whether jobs will disappear, but whether workers can move into emerging roles. Demand is expected to grow in areas such as AI, data analysis and cybersecurity, alongside essential occupations in healthcare, education and agriculture. Workers whose skills do not match changing requirements risk being excluded even as new vacancies emerge.
Digital Access and Skills Will Shape the Transition
Access to technology is another dividing line. The World Bank’s Digital Progress and Trends Report 2025 identifies disparities in connectivity, computing infrastructure, relevant data and digital skills as barriers to wider participation in the AI economy. While AI adoption is expanding, high-income countries continue to dominate important areas of AI innovation and computing capacity.
Representational image.Image credit:Pexels
For people without reliable internet access, affordable devices or opportunities to acquire digital skills, the shift towards online recruitment, digital services and AI-assisted work can deepen existing disadvantages. Connectivity alone, however, is insufficient: workers also need relevant training, accessible education and opportunities to apply their skills in productive employment.
The UN report argues that governments must invest in quality education, lifelong learning, digital and AI capabilities, affordable connectivity and stronger social protection. Labour-market policies must also support decent working conditions, equal opportunities and training that helps workers move between occupations.
For developing economies with large young populations, the stakes are particularly high. A growing workforce can support economic growth only when enough productive jobs are available and workers can acquire the capabilities those jobs demand. Without such opportunities, demographic potential can translate into prolonged unemployment, insecure work and widening inequality.
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