MP Central, PC Mohan Meeting Summary: Cubbon Park Development & Upgrade Initiatives
- Heritage Beku
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
13 July 2026 Meeting Summary: Cubbon Park Development & Upgradation Initiatives
Venue: Horticulture Office, Cubbon Park
Host: Mr. P.C. Mohan, MP (Bangalore Central)
Attendees: DD Cubbon Park, Chetan (Horticulture AD) & senior CP Horticulture staff , Sunita Kumar , Umesh, Prabha Dev, Chandrashekar, Priya Chetty-Rajagopal (and other stakeholders).
Opening & Special Appreciation
Deep gratitude was expressed to Mr. P.C. Mohan, MP Bangalore Central, for his proactive initiative to leverage MP funds for meaningful improvements to Cubbon Park. The attendees appreciated his forward-looking support, pre-emptive action, and deep pride for the Cubbon Park, a crown jewel of the city.
Key Discussion Points & Action Items
1. Park Access, Pedestrian Flow, and Safety Fencing
Park Access & Gate Solutions: The extensive fencing running from the Rose Garden right up to Hudson Circle currently disrupts pedestrian flow, forcing walkers to double back unnecessarily. To keep the park human-centric rather than traffic-centric, it was suggested—and agreed to by Mr. Mohan—to install a couple of gates on each side to allow easy entry and exit for walkers and public, which will both allow access but ensure public traffic safety.
Hazardous Spike Fences: Sharp spike fences dating back to the SmartCity project remain a serious health and safety hazard for park users and have previously injured people and gruesomely killed dogs. Priya shared her online petition on the subject. While DD Ms Kusuma’s efforts to employ staff to weld down 50% of the spikes were appreciated, the remaining 50% urgently needs to be addressed. Mr. Mohan firmly agreed that public safety is paramount and must be handled immediately, requested the cost of this to be factored in.
2. Heritage Conservation & Aesthetics
Gowri Mandir/ The Fern House: Requires an aesthetic and functional makeover of this circa 1888 heritage space to ensure it is usable and accessible. The team proposed creating a dedicated "program week" to bring focus to the space, ideally linking it with Heritage Day.
State Central Library: The exterior paint of this iconic Red Cubbon Park symbol remains in terrible condition. Despite a year of letters from Heritage Beku, various entities continue to pass the buck. Priya requested that the library authorities urgently address the painting delay, noting that waiting for CSR funds is unacceptable and harms Bangalore's image. Ditto with the Children’s Library.
Indira Gandhi Children’s Library: Currently suffers from very low patronage, poor maintenance, low-quality tiling, and a gaudy green and yellow striped entrance. The team proposed upgrading the space for children or transforming it into a dedicated "Cubbon Park Library" to showcase the park's history, origins, and greenery.
Bandstand: Mr Chandrashekar appreciated the cultural performances at Bandstand by Horticulture Dept and Heritage Beku which provided a strong cultural space on Sundays for the public and was told that the 83rd performance was last Sunday.
Public Toilets Facade: The current cream and brown shaded tiles look garish and completely out of place in a heritage park environment and brick cladding is needed.
Action: Mr. Mohan immediately agreed to change the facade, directing that it be replaced with a more appropriate brick covering and Mangalore tiles to seamlessly blend with the park's ambience.
3. KSLTA Wall Remediation
Visual & Environmental Issue: The back wall of the KSLTA kitchens facing the dry pond creates an ugly view for anyone walking from the bandstand toward the main park due to general waste, rubbish, and foul smells. Earlier the ugly back of the kitchens, dump yard, and storage were entirely exposed, The current green net is a temporary fix put in after many letters were written to Horticulture. A video was shared.
Action Plan: Emphasizing that both KSLTA and Cubbon Park share the responsibility to preserve the park's beauty, Priya said that Heritage Beku (which has written two letters on the matter) suggested that KSLTA either build a beautiful, fully covered interface on their side, and also that a public art mural/installation be added to transform the wall.
4. Dog Park improvement
PC Mohan felt that many people were using and appreciating the dog park , but he was happy to help improve it further and do some more work. Priya appreciated his support and invited him to the next Sunday to see how the volunteers worked on managing this space on Sundays but shared how tough it was to get the basics handled – fencing , gates, water and electrical point, and painting done via the Smart City project. Also the heavy work and effort on Sunday with stretched volunteers and ensuring the park visitors leashed their dog and picked up pet poop.
Umesh Kumar interjected to state that he more urgently needed an office for Cubbon Park Walkers Association, which has been working hard for the park, and PC Mohan requested DD to look into this issue.
Operational Challenges: Priya agreed and cited the difficulties of managing the facility day-to-day, pointing out broken and rusted fencing, a lack of water, a lack of electrical points, and a dangerous single-gated sloping entry that causes people to slip when dogs run or jump.
Action Plan: Mr. Mohan specifically requested a targeted list of improvements. Priya promised to follow up with a detailed blueprint of what needs to be done to elevate the facility.
Comprehensive Infrastructure Master List
The following projects have been formally tabled for execution in the agenda utilizing the MP funds:
Security & Surveillance: Installation of CCTV cameras along with providing separate, dedicated electrical power connections for them. Priya suggested that annual maintenance be included as the last time the CCTV failed because of that ,
Jogging Track Restoration: Reconstruction of the damaged Hosakote Murram jogging tracks within the park premises.
Water Infrastructure: Ensuring a permanent water supply system by sinking 3 Borewells specifically dedicated to the public toilets and park facilities. This is in addition to the existing water replenishment tanks within this space.
Toilet Facade Upgrades: Upgrading the bathroom facades using brick coverings and Mangalore tiles as agreed.
Water Feature/Aeration: Construction of an artificial waterfall and the installation of three aerators in the Lotus Pond area. Water coming in from the Metro should be rechecked as its dirty and has choked the pong, ducks and other water life. Kusuma DD said its checked already and clean but would look into it.
Park Conveniences: Strategic placement and installation of necessary dustbins and visitor benches throughout the park.
Re Benches: PC Mohan asked for the number required and the design so he could sanction. Prya shared the initial Heritage Beku Benchmarking Project initiative with Smart City that never took off, which involved public and said she would send the link to him as well.
Perimeter & Compound Works: Construction of a secure perimeter safety grill/compound wall around Cubbon Park, along with painting the security cabins.
Regulated Entry Points: Installation of rotating gates where there is excessive fencing eg continuous fence from Rose Garden to Hudson Circle Gate .
Next Steps
At the close of the meeting, Priya expressed final appreciation for the MP’s rare proactive outreach and readiness to allocate personal funds while democratically engaging with the stakeholders . DD Kusuma formally thanked the MP and was very grateful that Mr Mohan had himself offered his MP Funds and in parallel called for a meeting with Preservation Committee to discuss as well. Horticulture AD Chetan was requested to get the tenders in place quickly so that Mr. Mohan can swiftly proceed with implementing these vital works. The issue of short staffing at Cubbon Park and traffic was also raised and Mr Mohan suggested he will have another meeting to review all issues next month and requested DD to schedule a quarterly meeting on Cubbon Park
View from the sidelines:
A heartwarming highlight of the meeting was a post meetimg exchange regarding the Weekend Cubbon Dog Park. Mr. Mohan praised the facility for drawing visitors from all over Bangalore who love its effort and ambience. As an avid dog lover who recently lost his beautiful Newfoundland dog, he received heartfelt condolences from Priya and Sunita. Priya encouraged him to promote Indian dogs and she and Sunita suggested he adopt a native Indian ("Indie") dog next, sharing the "Indie Proud" message championed by the Dog Park and CJ Memorial Trust. Sunita said that Tuk-tuk, an adorable little puppy abandoned at Cubbon Park is ready and waiting. In response, Mr. Mohan surprised and delighted the attendees by initiating a live video conference call to his Delhi office to introduce everyone to his three beautiful Indie dogs, who were seen looking right at home in his carpeted conference room. Priya recalled that former MP Rajeev Chandrashekar was also the proud parent to three Indies at Delhi and in Bangalore. Amidst chuckles, Mr. Mohan warmly agreed that aligning with the BJP's strong "Make in India" focus, everyone should come together to be #IndieProud promote "Made in India" by adopting handsome, strong native Indian dogs. We are all set for the next Indie addition to his home!