It has been standing in what’s now Bengaluru for billions of years, lengthy earlier than people, cities and even the Himalayas existed. Now, one in all Bengaluru’s most important geological landmarks has discovered itself on the centre of a contemporary infrastructure debate. The Lalbagh Rock, an enormous outcrop of Peninsular Gneiss inside Bengaluru’s Lalbagh Botanical Backyard, has turn out to be a focus of protests towards the proposed 17-km Hebbal-Central Silk Board Twin Tunnel Street Venture and a latest modification to Karnataka’s parks legislation.On August 30, 1000’s of Bengalureans gathered at Lalbagh and marched in direction of the enduring rock. In response to a TOI report, the protesters fashioned a human chain round it and hugged the rock whereas holding ‘Save Lalbagh’ banners. They demanded that the proposed entry and exit ramps of the tunnel venture close to Lalbagh be deserted.So, what makes this rock so necessary?
How outdated is the Lalbagh Rock?
The Lalbagh Rock is estimated to be between 3.0 and three.4 billion years outdated, in response to numerous media stories. It’s a part of a geological formation referred to as Peninsular Gneiss. To know simply how outdated that’s, the Earth itself is round 4.5 billion years outdated. The Himalayas are tens of thousands and thousands of years outdated, whereas dinosaurs appeared round 230 million years in the past.Meaning the rock in Lalbagh predates each by an enormous margin. As per many stories, the rock fashioned through the Archean Eon, when the Earth was vastly totally different from the planet we all know at present. It dates to a interval lengthy earlier than oxygen grew to become ample in Earth’s ambiance, when volcanic exercise was widespread and complicated life had not developed.The Geological Survey of India declared the Lalbagh rock a Nationwide Geological Monument in 1975, recognising its geological significance.
Why is it referred to as Peninsular Gneiss?
The Lalbagh Rock is estimated to be between 3.0 and three.4 billion years outdated.
The rock is usually mistaken for granite, however a TOI report explains that it’s a part of an historical complicated of metamorphic and granitic rocks referred to as Peninsular Gneiss. It was fashioned when older rocks had been buried deep underground and subjected to monumental warmth and strain. The rock needed to be modified by geological processes that befell at temperatures of over 600°C. The strain and warmth modified the minerals inside it and created the sunshine and darkish bands that may nonetheless be seen on the rock at present. Scientists have been in a position to estimate its age by utilizing zircon crystals discovered within the rock. These crystals can survive excessive geological situations and maintain chemical info that permits investigators to work out when the rock was fashioned.
The rock has not at all times been the place Bengaluru is
There’s one more reason the Lalbagh Rock is fascinating: the land it sits on has moved over geological time. The area that’s now southern India was as soon as a part of the traditional supercontinent Gondwana. In response to The Financial Instances, round 300 million years in the past, this land was a part of Gondwana, which prolonged in direction of what’s now Antarctica. Sluggish tectonic actions later carried the land northwards over thousands and thousands of years.So, whereas the rock itself didn’t journey independently, the landmass on which it sits moved as tectonic plates shifted.
The rock additionally has a human historical past
The controversy has already led the Karnataka authorities to rethink the laws.
The Lalbagh Rock’s story shouldn’t be restricted to geology. Excavations close to the outcrop in 1932 reportedly uncovered prehistoric burial websites. In response to media stories, archaeologists discovered massive pottery urns related to a neighborhood burial custom. The rock can also be linked to the early historical past of Bengaluru. In 1537, Bengaluru founder Kempe Gowda chosen the hillock as the situation for one in all 4 watchtowers that marked the boundaries of the town he was establishing.The geological landmark subsequently predates Bengaluru by billions of years, however it later grew to become a part of the town’s personal historical past.
The rock additionally helps a small ecosystem
In response to media stories, soil and moisture accumulate in cracks within the rock, permitting grasses, mosses and lichens to develop. The rock additionally offers habitat for the Peninsular rock agama, a lizard that blends with the rocky floor. The report famous that graffiti and plastic waste have additionally emerged as threats to this fragile ecosystem.
Why is the Lalbagh Rock within the information now?
The most recent controversy is about the way forward for Lalbagh and different protected inexperienced areas in Bengaluru. The Karnataka legislature handed the Karnataka Authorities Parks (Preservation) (Modification) Invoice, 2026, which permits the state to alienate as much as 5% of the full space of a authorities park or backyard for specified public utility tasks. The modification has triggered protests from residents, environmental teams and opposition leaders.The difficulty has turn out to be notably contentious due to the proposed 17-km Hebbal-Central Silk Board Twin Tunnel Street.In response to The New Indian Specific, the proposed venture envisages ramps and allied infrastructure inside the Lalbagh premises. The venture contains an exit ramp on the Wilson Backyard aspect and an entry ramp from the Ashoka Pillar aspect, with consultants estimating that round six acres could possibly be required for ramps, shafts and utility works.The federal government has indicated that the tunnel would bypass the traditional rock. Nevertheless, issues stay concerning the potential impression of tunnelling and related ramps and infrastructure on Lalbagh’s geological and ecological options. The difficulty has additionally prompted requires higher scrutiny of the venture and its impression on the backyard.
Why did folks hug the traditional rock?
1000’s of residents marched from the Lalbagh gates in direction of the rock, the place they fashioned a human chain and hugged it.
The Lalbagh Rock grew to become a logo of the protest. 1000’s of residents marched from the Lalbagh gates in direction of the rock, the place they fashioned a human chain and hugged it whereas carrying banners saying ‘Save Lalbagh.’The protest was led by 91-year-old retired IFS officer A.N. Yellappa Reddy, and Bengaluru MPs together with Shobha Karandlaje, C.N. Manjunath, P.C. Mohan and Tejasvi Surya participated. The protesters demanded that the proposed tunnel highway ramps close to Lalbagh be deserted and opposed the supply permitting as much as 5% of parkland for use for infrastructure.
What occurs to the 5% parks provision now?
The controversy has already led the Karnataka authorities to rethink the laws. Chief Minister D.Okay. Shivakumar mentioned the federal government would reintroduce the Parks Invoice through the winter session of the state legislature, doubtless in November-December, giving the Opposition a possibility to debate it. He additionally mentioned he was open to ideas from the Opposition and the general public and would revisit the laws within the bigger public curiosity.
