‘Dear DK’, Bengaluru citizens ask: ‘Flyovers yaake?’

Bengaluru: A group of citizens from across Bengaluru has launched a campaign urging Chief Minister D K Shivakumar to scrap the proposed 75-km elevated road corridors and redirect the Rs 13,000-crore budget towards sustainable transport solutions.Around 50 Indiranagar residents gathered at CMH Park on Sunday to discuss the elevated corridor projects being taken up by Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Limited (B-SMILE).They agreed on three demands: cancel the tenders and stop work; reallocate the Rs 13,000-crore budget within 90 days based on IISc recommendations and with full transparency; and immediately operationalise the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA).Elevated corridors, bypassed realitiesWebsite: ‘deardk.com’The campaign has also gone online with a dedicated website, ‘deardk.com’, featuring an open letter to Shivakumar urging him to reconsider the government’s push for elevated corridors.”Building more flyovers inside Bengaluru city is wrong. The upcoming flyover projects will not fix traffic; they will ruin our city. You must stop it,” the website says, asking, “Why are you so eager to build these flyovers?”The website argues that more elevated roads are unlikely to ease Bengaluru’s congestion and says the Rs 13,000 crore earmarked for mobility could be better spent.“There is enough evidence to prove that flyovers will not improve congestion. It is a waste of taxpayers’ money,” said architect Pravar.

Source: Deccan Herald