Bengaluru's Cubbon Park has new rules: No food, no games, no PDA

A couple walks inside Cubbon Park in Bengaluru (AFP)

New rules have been implemented at Bengaluru’s Cubbon Park forbidding visitors from eating, taking photos or playing sports. Climbing trees has also been banned, while couples are warned against getting too close to each other.

According to a Times of India report, the horticulture department of Bengaluru instituted these rules following complaints from park-goers. For about a month now, security guards have been patrolling the 300-acre park with megaphones which they use to blare out warnings to anyone they think is ‘transgressing.’

The constant use of megaphones and whistles has faced backlash from a section of visitors, but others are pleased to see the clampdown on public displays of affection.

“We've been receiving complaints by families (about public display of affection by couples). The issue is not just of decorum. It's also of safety as couples hide behind bushes, where snakes and insects could harm them,” said Rajendra Kataria, principal secretary, horticulture and sericulture department.

Kataria added that loudspeakers at Bengaluru’s Cubbon Park are not meant to disturb rule-following couples, but only those who “break the rules and spoil the park.”

One trio that has been visiting the park for over a decade said the new rules were a welcome change as couples behaving inappropriately in the park spoiled the experience for everyone else.

“It becomes very difficult for us to enjoy our walk because they are all over the area, using the public space as their bedroom,” the three regulars said.

But others say that security guards have not been trained to identify what is inappropriate behaviour. Sayonee Mukherjee, a college student, said she was sitting on a bench at Cubbon Park with her female friend. The two were sitting shoulder to shoulder when a security guard approached them and “shouted” at them to move away.

“His objection to us simply sitting under a tree was beyond absurd,” Mukherjee said.