48,201 objections submitted to DBKL to halt the re-development of Ashram

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 48,201 objections to the proposed re-development of the 110-year-old Vivekananda ashram were collected and submitted to City Hall (KLCH) today, the last date given to the residents to record their objections.
Members of the Save the Vivekananda Ashram action committee (SVAB), the group that has rallied support from the public, non-governmental organisations and politicians to stop the development, submitted the letters of objection to City Hall's planning department.
The ashram which was put up for re-development by its trustees has faced a severe backlash from the public by the decision of the trustees to re-develop the ashram to a 23-storey residential complex that will cantilever over its original structure.
"We want City Hall not to approve the development on that site, whether it is gazetted or not, we want them to halt development of any kind," said SVAB committee member G. Gunasegaran.
He said that since the petition drive began, everyone including religious bodies in Brickfields have come out in support of the cause.
"Places of worships in Brickfields like the churches, the Buddhist temple, the Hindu temples and even the mosque authorities here have supported the cause and signed the petition," he added.
He explained that the public are clearly not happy with the proposed re-development and the Mayor should now take heed of these objections and act on them.
"Apart from the ashram being a heritage site, we must also ponder the environmental impact this development will have in Brickfields. Brickfields area is badly congested with traffic during rush hour and so how are the developer and City hall going to address the problem?" said committee member Dr Christopher Nicholas.
He said proper study is needed before they approved the development plan as this will burden the residents and businesses in the Brickfields area. He added that all these concerns were expressed in their objection letter to KLCH.
As it stands, the trustees of the ashram have not taken Brickfields Asia College owner and co-founder Raja Singam's offer of RM1,000,000 to stop any re-development on site.
It is also learnt by theSun that some of the trustee members are also objecting its re-development and are against the trustee's decision.
"The public in Brickfields are willing to engage the trustees to see how we can assist, but they have refused to talk to us. We are asking for the ashram to be brought back to its former glory as a hub for learning and culture," said Gunasegaran.
"As the mayor has stated before, he will take action if the public does not approve, we have 48,201 objections as of now and it is growing, now the ball is in his court," said Gunasegaran.
On Sunday, a steady stream of supporters came out in support of the Ashram's cause and nearly 10,000 objections were obtained throughout the day. The objection booth is still located in front of the ashram. Alternatively, those who want to sign the online petition can go to www.saveashram.com.