Bengaluru's growth over the past few years has been hampered by critical infrastructural bottlenecks. The lopsided Volume to Capacity Ratio on major roads within the city is an indication of chronic traffic congestion. With limited ability to expand the road capacity within the core areas, there is an urgent need to de-congest Bengaluru. At this juncture, the question that arises is - will the Government of Karnataka's proposal to build a 6.7 km six-lane steel flyover from Basaveshwara Circle to Hebbal bring about a much-needed relief to the city's mobility woes?

We don't think so. We, the people of Bengaluru, believe the proposed development would only add more fuel to the raging fire of traffic congestion in Bengaluru and hence needs immediate reconsideration.

Bengaluru needs a comprehensive mobility plan with focus and largescale investment in public transportation. Keeping this in mind, the proposed steel flyover comes across as a strong signal from the government that they prefer to cater the private sector instead of giving public transport a much-needed push.

This project is yet another instance of adhoc planning and there is no details of how this integrates with broader Master Plan. There is complete absence of details about the project in public domain and inviting citizens to provide their feedback is farcical as they can’t evaluate the utility of the proposed project holistically. This project also has not detailed the environmental impact of undertaking the project and according to various media reports over 500 trees will be cut for this project. For Bengaluru, which is a city of global attraction and admiration, this steel behemoth will threaten the aesthetics of our garden city.

From executing the Commuter Rail System and tripling the number of buses plying in our city to giving due consideration to non-motorized transport facilities, a holistic multi-modal transportation plan for the city is need of the hour. It is critical not only to upgrade the road infrastructure within the city, but to create an integrated transport infrastructure in Bangalore Metropolitan Region (BMR) as a whole.

Stop the Government of Karnataka from actioning this steel flyover. Sign this petition and spread the word. If enough of us raise our voice against this proposed development, the state government will be forced to reconsider their plan and instead work on more practical solutions to resolve Bengaluru’s mobility woes.