Bengaluru: It is not just ordinary citizens who are exasperated by Bengaluru's traffic mess, even DCM
DK Shivakumar admitted he gets an earful about it at home.
Speaking in the legislative council Thursday, Shivakumar said his children berate him almost every day over the city's crippling congestion and deteriorating road infrastructure.
Participating in a debate on the proposed tunnel road project, BJP MLC CT Ravi said Bengaluru has over 1.2 crore registered vehicles, with citizens spending an average of 117 hours a year stuck in traffic.
Acknowledging the problem, Shivakumar said around 40 lakh additional vehicles enter the city daily from surrounding districts. "Bengaluru is not as planned as New Delhi. The road dimensions have remained the same since city founder Kempegowda's time, but vehicle numbers have exploded. It can take six to seven hours to travel just 10-15km. My own kids complain it takes up to three hours to reach some parts of the city and fight with me. High court judges who commute to work from Hebbal have also been complaining that it takes 45 minutes to travel to work," he said.
Shivakumar noted the city's population has doubled from 70 lakh to 1.4 crore, including 25 lakh tech professionals — nearly double the number in California's Silicon Valley. But road widening, he argued, is nearly impossible given property costs exceeding Rs 10,000 per sqft.
Instead, he proposed largescale double-decker flyovers and elevated corridors. Citing a pilot flyover from Ragigudda to Silk Board executed by minister Ramalinga Reddy after a study visit to Pune, Shivakumar said PM Narendra Modi recently appreciated the concept and advised to expand it, even suggesting solar panel coverage.
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