BJP MP urges Shivakumar to drop tunnel road project; says aim should be to move people, not vehicles

Bengaluru, Oct 29 (PTI) BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on Wednesday appealed to Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar to drop the tunnel road project in Bengaluru, saying the focus should be on moving people, not vehicles.

"Instead of leaving a legacy, Shivakumar is leaving a scar on Bengaluru," Surya said, warning that his party would challenge the project in court and also take to the streets in protest.

Insisting that a rail-based transport system is the only solution to the traffic woes in the state capital, the Bengaluru South MP said, "We should plan projects for people and not for contractors." Addressing a press conference here, Surya said, "Our objective should be to move people and not vehicles. This tunnel road project, with an estimated cost of Rs 43,000 crore, will only choke Bengaluru and not offer any solution." According to him, if this money is invested in Metro Rail, Suburban Rail, trams, and different sizes of buses under the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) for last-mile connectivity, the city's traffic problems could be resolved.

The MP claimed that for every Rs 1,000 crore spent on the tunnel road, only 1,800 car users could travel per hour per day, whereas the same investment in Metro Rail would benefit 69,000 passengers per hour every day.

"By building a Metro Rail network in the city, you can transport people 40 times more than those travelling in cars," he said.

He added that about 45 lakh people use BMTC buses and 10 lakh travel by metro every day.

The MP alleged that no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) or even basic soil testing had been done, nor were disaster management experts consulted.

Surya claimed that an expert committee had said the proposed tunnel road would have at least 22 choke points.

"The 45 lakh people travelling in city buses and 10 lakh people travelling in Metro trains got brides, they too got married, they have children and are leading happy married lives," the MP said.

He added that the government should shed the mindset that "only those with cars get married and have families." Surya said he met Shivakumar on Tuesday and explained the shortcomings of the tunnel road project.

According to him, the deputy chief minister told him that none of his suggestions offered a permanent solution to Bengaluru's traffic woes.

The Bengaluru tunnel road is a proposed project aimed at building a network of underground roads to reduce the city's traffic woes. The 17.7-km twin-tube tunnel connecting Hebbal and Central Silk Board will be built at an estimated cost of nearly Rs 18,000 crore. PTI GMS SSK ROH