Bengaluru has lost more than half of its greenery due to urbanisation and the remaining parts are also in great danger due to human intervention. Rather than protecting the nature inside the city, the government is misusing taxpayers money with unwanted construction at several lung spaces.
After air and noise pollution, Silicon Valley will soon be a victim of light pollution. The 190 acres Cubbon Park is one of the examples for such construction as the authorities are keen on building unwanted structures inside the park that are actually killing the habitat. The government has put up LED display boards and smart lights inside the park which can result in light pollution.
Nearly 50 display boards have been installed on to the footpath inside the park, where people come to escape from the technology and crowd of the city. According to the reports, Cubbon park authorities are also planning to provide free Wi-Fi inside the park.
According to various reports, blue and white LED lighting is more harmful to wildlife species, particularly insects. Akin to air pollution, light pollution is also a serious health threat to wildlife as it is for humans. The artificial light poses a great threat at night to biodiversity as street lights could be harming agriculture due to the effects of nighttime light pollution on pollinators.
Many insects and moths get attracted to light in the night, taking them away from where they ought to be as a part of the natural system and this will have an effect on natural balance.
Dr MB Krishna, an environmentalist and Ornithologist told International Business Times, India, "Why should there be illuminated boards in a vegetated area like Cubbon Park after sundown, more so after traffic and pedestrian restrictions come in to place in the evenings?"
He said that for animals, especially the tiny ones like insects, it might disrupt their movements and lead to a loss of their services to the ecosystem. For larger animals like rodents and snakes, it could disrupt their movements and the additional light0 even scattered light could blow their cover. For some birds, like the beautiful Scops Owl, light could deter them and make them avoid the vicinity. For plants, it could just disrupt their photoperiodism and a lot follows from that.
"It is wrong for the government to defile a place they are trustees of. And putting up displays at times of the day when traffic and people are not allowed to roam about is an outright waste of energy which becomes light pollution," said Dr Krishna.
About the free Wi-Fi and LED display inside the park, a few youngsters said that it is not at all needed inside a park as they come there to relax and technological influence in this space will destroy its atmosphere.
While people carelessly dump wastes and tamper with the natural balance inside the park, they don't understand that altering any space from its natural state can have severe outcomes over wildlife as well as humans.
